Athletics Briefs: Menjo beat all-comers in Belgrade, Kenya tops Athletics table in Delhi, Kebede future plans and more...

BEOGRAD (SRB, Oct 13): Josphat Menjo of Kenya capped a historic breakthrough season by winning the Belgrade Race Through History this afternoon, taking five seconds from the long standing course record, with 16.53 for the six kilometre lap around the Kalemedgan fortress in the Serbian capital.

Menjo, 31, outsprinted compatriots Eliud Kipchoge (16:55) and Stephen Tum (16:56), who finished second and third, while Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar, in the first road race of his eventful career just outleaned Kenya-based New Zealander Jake Robertson for fourth (16:57). Robertson was timed at 16:58 ahead of best European Laszlo Toth of Hungary (17:00).

Such was the quality of the field for the sun-soaked race, rather than the threatened rain, that the top five ran faster or equal to the record of 16.58, set by Brahim Lahlafi of Morocco at the inaugural event in 1996.

NEW DELHI (IND): In final medal rankings of athletics at Commonwealth Games Kenya is the leader with 11-10-8 (in total 29 medals). Second Australia is close with 11-6-3 and third England has 7-8-11. Fourth place for Canada 7-2-7, Jamaica is fifth 2-4-1 just edging home India 2-3-7 and Nigeria 2-3-1. In total 24 countries won medals in athletics.

NEW YORK (USA): Ethiopian Chicago marathon second placer Tsegaye Kebede confirmed he will not run the New York City Marathon to attack the World Marathon Majors 2009-10 overall win. He is 10 points behind Samuel Wanjiru.

“New York was never in his mind before Chicago,” his agent Valentijn Trouw said for The New York Times in a phone interview from his offices in the Netherlands. “He thought about it briefly after Chicago, but then we realized it was not a good idea. Tsegaye has a lot of good years to come, we hope at least 10 years and maybe 12.”

Trouw added that Kebede, a recent surprise as a top global marathon contender, plans to run in the New York City Marathon. But its relatively tough course and race date have not yet made it a priority. London, Berlin and Chicago offer easier courses and a better chance than New York for Kebede to set a world record.

Kebede could make his New York City Marathon debut in 2011, although 2012 is more likely. Trouw explained that the best time for Wanjiru to run in New York would be after an Olympic or world championship marathon due to the extra month of rest the New York race offers as a fall marathon option.

Courtesy of Alfonz Juck/EME News