Kenyans triumph in Paris, Rome Marathons
Kenya’s Paul Lonyangata and Betsy Saina swept the 2018 Paris Marathon race on Sunday morning while Cosmas-Jairus Kipchoge Birech triumphed in Rome Marathon.
Lonyangata defended his men’s crown at the 42nd edition of the Paris Marathon, while US-based Saina won the women’s event, her first major.
The two champions finished almost together with Lonyangata clocking 2:06:25 as Saina timed 2.22.55.
Lonyangata passed Betsy Saina, the women’s winner, in the last few hundred metres.
The women’s race started 16min 26sec before the men, the difference in times between the male and female winners last year.
In Rome, Birech clocked 2hr 08min 03sec in the Italian capital to finish just ahead of Bahraini Abdi Ibrahim with another Kenyan Paul Kangogo coming third.
Ethiopian Rahma Tusa won the women’s race for the third straight year. Tusa, 24, clocked 2hr 23min 46sec with Bahrain’s Dalila Gosa three minutes behind and Kenya’s Alice Kibor in third.
