Bekele Win Kolkata 25k, But Falls Short of Pre-Race Goals

By Adam Kopet

Kenenisa Bekele won the Tata Steel Kolkata 25k Sunday, running 1:13:48 to break the course record, the IAAF reports.

However, Bekele did not meet his pre-race goals of breaking Dennis Kimetto's world record, or at least setting a personal best. He was over a minute off his best and more than two minutes off the world record. The early pace of the race was slow.

This was Bekele's first race since he dropped out of the Berlin Marathon in September. He pulled away from his competition in Kolkata with about seven kilometers remaining. He went on to win by 38 seconds over Tsegay Tuemay of Eritrea.