Maharjan, who had secured first position in the Sydney Marathon 2012 in the same age category, will be leaving for the USA on Saturday, it was announced at a function organized in the capital on Friday to bid farewell to Maharjan. Maharjan had won gold in the Sydney Marathon clocking 2 hours 58 minutes. He had achieved his personal best of 2 hours 51 minutes during the New York City Marathon in 2011. [break]
South Asian record holder Baikuntha Manandhar bade farewell to Maharjan amidst a function on Friday and wished him success in the event.
"I hope to win the marathon this time as well," said Maharjan, who has been training for the Boston Marathon for the last six months. He is undergoing training under the guidance of Baikuntha Manandhar, whose South Asian record of 2 hours 15 minutes 3 seconds set during the 1987 Kolkata South Asian Games (SAG) still stands to this day.
Manandhar is confident that Maharjan will win gold in his age category. "No one can match his pace and timing in the age category," said Manandhar.
It will be Maharjan´s ninth participation in an international marathon. He has previously competed in the Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon and Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon, among others.
Maharjan, who trains for nearly three hours every day, will be Nepal´s sole participant in the marathon. "My aim is to represent Nepal at the international level and make every Nepali proud by winning the event. I hope my participation at this age will motivate the young runners as well as veterans," said Maharjan, who is participating in the marathon on his own expenses. "Representing the nation at the international forum is more important than money," said Maharjan, who is the proprietor of Harati Newari Restaurant at Nayabazar.
Related story
Nepali athlete Parki leaves for Germany to compete in Berlin M...
-1200x560-1779450784.webp)