Deriba Merga to lead Ethiopian team at Airtel Delhi Half-Marathon

New Delhi, India – Two-time defending champion Deriba Merga of Ethiopia leads a field of elite Ethiopian runners in the $10,000 Airtel Delhi half-marathon to be held here on November 21.

In the men’s category, Deriba will be challenged by his fellow countryman and Lelisa Desisa’s training partner Eshetu Wondemu, who has a personal best time of 59.56.

Deriba is expected to go after his third consecutive win here after the Ethiopian won 2008 and 2009. He currently holds the record (59.15) at the race, which he sets in 2008.

In the women’s category, the 2008 winner Aselefech Mergia will be joined by fellow Ethiopians Mare Dibaba and 2009 world half-marathon silver medalist Aberu Kebede.

The Airtel Delhi race is by far the world’s richest half-marathon race, where 40 of the world’s top 100 male and female athletes will compete for total prize money of 210,000 dollars.