Kimeli secures Ottawa 10K title

Dorcas Kimeli hit a personal best 31:09 en route to victory at the Ottawa 10K where she led compatriots Valary Jemeli and Paskalia Kipkoech to a Kenyan sweep on Saturday.

The 21-year old bagged KSh377,000 (CDN$5000) in prize money in what was her first race on Canadian soil.

The Kenyan was at the front for most of the race, sharing the early spadework with her compatriots Jemeli and Paskalia Kipkoech.

After the first 5km was passed in a sedentary 15:57, one by one the pack was whittled down as Kimeli went to work.

Jemeli was quite close to Kimeli while turning on to the final stretch but the gap amid the two broadened towards the finishing line.

This was the first time the Dorcas Kimeli set foot in Canada for road races and ultimately showcased a fanciful performance.

“This is my first time in Canada, I was totally confident because I have been engaging in a lot of training that equally made me believe that I could win the race and luckily I thank God that I won,” said Dorcas Kimeli.

Kimeli similarly Acknowledged that she was worried at first but dropped the worries one by one as soon as the race Kicked off and wholly loosened her thoughts to winning the race.

Jemeli on the Other hand was gratified with the second Position which came months later after seizing the third position at the Nagoya Womens Marathon 11 weeks ago.

“The stride was good, but it was a bit challenging since it was the first time i was engaging in the 10k, I thought I might win the race but my set-back was at the last stretch because my legs were already paining but am happy I made my personal best of 31:12, it’s an achievement and also a new experience to me, ” Jemeli said.

Correspondingly significant about the Ottawa race was the gender gap which saw elite Women set out 3:40 ahead of the elite men. Spectators could watch the race on a split screen television as the men chase the women.

-Material sourced from IAAF