Nepali female athletes proudly close 2019!
The last few months of 2019 has been great for the Nepali Athletics scene. Nepal hosted 13th South Asian games with wonderful outcomes. For Trail Running scene, the Golden trail world series 2019 finale destination was in Annapurna, Pokhara where about 300 participants raced on the Annapurna trails. Nepali athletes especially female athletes have made us proud in some of the toughest and challenging races in and out of Nepal!
Here’s some recap of the highlight performance of girls in the last leg of 2019.
Santoshi Srestha winning the 13th South Asian Games 10000 m distance race held in Kathmandu. Picture credits to The Himalyan times.
13TH SOUTH ASIAN GAMES 10000 M RACE
4TH December 2019
Santoshi Shrestha created history today in Nepali athletics after she became the first-ever Nepali woman to win an athletics gold medal in an international meet when she finished first in the women’s 10,000m race in the 13th South Asian Games here at Dasharath Stadium. https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/santoshi-shrestha-first-nepali-woman-to-win-athletics-gold/
Santoshi completed the race in 35 mins 7.94 secs, closely followed in millisecond by the Indian athlete. The article also points out that she is the fourth amongst all the historical athletes ( all other men) who set a record and won golds in the Regional International competitions.
A huge pride for Nepal! Santoshi is coached by coach Raghu Onta in Kathmandu and she trains with the national athletes.
Jiaozi mountain crossing competition, China
21st December 2019
Nepali athletes participated in a Chinese mountain race competition called Jiaozi mountain crossing competition, a 50 Km high altitude race competition which starts from 2000m altitude reaches up to 4200 mt and back. Rashila Tamang was the only female Nepali athlete to represent Nepal and she won the race with a timing of 8 hr 20 mins and 43 secs and secured overall 6th position.
OMAN BY UTMB
29th November 2019
Sunmaya Budha won the Oman by UTMB followed by Holly Page UK and National Geographic Adventurer of the year 2017, Mira Rai showing strong comeback in the 3rd rank! While Bhim Bahadur Gurung clean swept the Oman 50 K Championship title!
The 50KM belonged to the Nepalese runners. Bhim Bahadur Gurung finished in 5 hours, 26 minutes and 22 seconds, 12 minutes and 8 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, while his compatriots Sunmaya Budha and Mira Rai claimed first and third in the women’s event, finishing in times of 06:12:26 and 6:43:08 respectively. -
https://omanbyutmb.com/global-field-of-runners-achieve-the-incredible-at-oman-by-utmb/
Sunmaya, Bhim and Mira play as Trail Running Nepal club athlete. Sunmaya comes from a small village in Jumla, and is a leading athlete of Karnali Youth Club coached by coach Hari Rokaya.
Bhim Bahadur Gurung wins Oman by UTMB 50 K race
Mira Rai strong comeback in the 50k Oman by UTMB race.
Original Everest Trail Marathon, Everest region, Nepal
2nd December 2019
The Everest Marathon is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest marathon in the world. It's not just the race that's demanding as reaching the start line at 5184m, the original Everest Base Camp, is a challenge in its own right! says http://originaleverestmarathon.com/
Picture credits https://www.facebook.com/original.everest.marathon/
Rashila Tamang, Dhading has won the world’s highest marathon with a timing of 5 hours 18 minutes. The race starts from 5184m Everest Base camp to Namche Bazaar at 3466m.
Suman Kulung , strong contender from Solukhumbu region set a new record by finishing the marathon in 3 hours 39 minutes. He was sponsored by The Little Sherpa Foundation.
The athletics talent in Nepal for the women is immense. There are amazing, incredibly strong women in Nepal, who with right guidance and coaching can do amazing in international races as they have already proven.
We are bringing together the road athletes into the female runner’s community of Nepal. We are proud of Rashila Tamang and Sunmaya Budha, who also are training to be trail running guides for Nepal Trail Series Trail Running Camps and retreats. To know about the upcoming trail running camp click below to know more about PG Coach Trail Camp Manang 2020.