TANZANIAN youth Gabriel Geay proudly waved the national team flag, clinching a silver medal after finishing second in the Boston Marathon on Monday.
The upcoming long distance hero clocked 2 hours, 6 minutes and 4 second to claim a silver medal.
Geay also reaped 75,000 US dollars cash prize (about 176,100,000/-).
Geay’s victory in the Boston Marathon brings up the memory of the legendary marathoner Juma Ikangaa, a sentimental favourite in the Boston Marathon after finishing second in three Boston Marathon in 1988,1999 and 1990.
Ikangaa is a long-living memory in Tanzania, who won gold in the 1989 New York City Marathon in a course-record time of 2:08:01; he also won gold in Tokyo marathon twice in 1984 and 1986.
Besides bringing good memories, Geay holds the national marathon record after winning a silver medal in the 2022 Valencia Marathon last December, clocking 2 hours and 03 minutes.
Apart from Geay winning yesterday’s marathon, Alphonce Simbu sealed a bronze medal on Sunday in Yangzhou Jianzhen International Half Marathon.
Geay finished yesterday’s marathon behind Kenyan runner Evans Chebet who clocked 02:05:54.
It is Chebet’s second consecutive win in the Boston Marathon men’s elite race. Chebet becomes the first man to defend his title since Robert Cheruiyot did so in 2008.
But the Tanzanian youth managed to beat the third-placed Kenyan Benson Kipruto by a close margin of just two seconds.
Unexpectedly the Kenyan record breaker Eliud Kipchoge failed to complete the race in the top three places, finishing sixth in 02:09:23.
Gabriel Geay began the marathon at a low pace snatching ninth place in the fifth kilometre. He spent 14 minutes and 18 seconds completing it.
He improved his pace to fourth in the tenth kilometre, recording 28 minutes 52 seconds.
Three Kenyan runners, including John Korir in third, were ahead of him, while Eliud Kipchoge and Benson Kipruto finished ten kilometres leading.
Geay dropped to tenth in the fifteenth kilometre with 43 minutes and 57 seconds with a slight margin of seconds with other runners.
The Tanzanian star maintained his position and completed the first half of the marathon in an hour, 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
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Kenyan runners dominated the twenty-one kilometres–Kipchoge leading, followed by John Korir, Kipruto and Mark Korir. In fifth came an Ethiopian runner Andualem Belay.
Geay leapfrogged the list in the 25th kilometre after taking the lead, recording an hour 14 minutes 4 seconds. Kipchoge and John Korir followed Geay behind.
Geay looked in good shape, maintaining his pace at an average of four minutes and 51 seconds per kilometre from his start to the 25th kilometre.
After Geay snatched the three places, he maintained his chances by battling against Kenyan runners Kipchoge and John Korir, whiles Andualem and Evans Chebet hunted behind them, a few times switching positions with the other leaders.
In the 37th kilometre, Geay maintained his command, recording an hour, 50 minutes and 19 seconds.
Kipchoge lost top positions in the 33rd kilometre and dropped to seventh, then eighth in the 37th and 38th kilometre.
In the 40th kilometre, Geay dropped to third, recording one hour 59 minutes and 14 seconds behind a second with two Kenyan runners, Chebet and Kipruto.
Geay stretched himself further as the finish line was edging; his pace enabled him to seal a second place in the marathon, clocking 2 hours, 6 minutes and 4 seconds behind Chebet, who completed the race in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 54 seconds. Kipruto took third place and recorded 2 hours, 6 minutes and 6 seconds.
