Ethiopian Sutume Asefa Kebede is imposed in the female category
MADRID, 3 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Kenyan Benson Kipruto and the Ethiopian Sutume Asefa Kebede won the Tokyo marathon this Sunday with record times, while the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the Dutch Sifan Hassan did not even get on the podium.
Kipruto, champion of the 2021 Boston and 2022 Chicago marathons, won the men’s race in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 16 seconds, improving his personal best by almost two minutes and topping an all-Kenyan podium alongside Timothy Kiplagat and Vincent Kipkemoi Ngetich.
Kipchoge, 39 years old, former world record holder and champion in Tokyo 2022, began to falter halfway through the event and had to settle for tenth place, 4:34 minutes behind the winner, a setback in his goal of achieving a third gold unprecedented consecutive Olympian at the Paris 2024 Games.
In the women’s category, Kebede improved her personal best by more than two minutes by winning with a time of 2:15:55, the greatest success of her career. The Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru, winner last year, was second, and the Ethiopian Amane Beriso, world champion, third.
The Dutch Sifan Hassan, two-time world and Olympic track champion and winner of the London and Chicago marathons last year, was relegated to fourth place shortly before the 30 kilometers and held the pace to finish fourth with a disadvantage of 2:10 minutes.
The Tokyo race is part of the six major high-level marathons in the world, along with those in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London and New York.