Kenyan runners yesterday dominated the 2015 New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon held in Wanli District, with Eliud Kiplagat Barngetuny and Gladys Kipsoi winning the men’s and women’s races respectively and the other two podium spots in the men’s race also going to Kenyans.
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu fired the starting gun.
This was the first marathon in Taiwan to be certified by the International Association of Athletics Federations and attracted about 12,000 participants from the nation and abroad, including 24 elite marathon runners from 12 countries.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
In the men’s race, Barngetuny crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 13 minutes and 14 seconds, smashing the record of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 17 seconds set last year, while Josphat Kiptanui Too Chobei and Samuel Kalya finished second and third in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 51 seconds and 2 hours, 18 minutes and 30 seconds respectively.
In the women’s race, Kipsoi finished in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 32 seconds, while Ethiopian runner Tigist Teshome Ayanu came second in 2 hours, 41 minutes and 31 seconds and Kenya’s Ruth Wanjiru Kuria finished third in 2 hours, 42 minutes and 18 seconds.
Ho Chin-ping was the first local man to finish, in a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 16 seconds, the best performance of his career.
That qualified him for the World Championships this year.
The second and third-placed local men were Huang Wen-liang and Chang Wei-shao.
Chen Ya-fang was the first local woman to finish, in 3 hours, 8 minutes and 32 seconds, followed by Lin Yu-hsin and Chen Wei-lin, who were placed second and third.
A 14km challenge run and 7km fun run were also contested alongside the 42.195km marathon, with runners from each event setting off 20 minutes apart.
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