Ethiopian runners yesterday won the men’s and women’s divisions of the annual Taipei Marathon: Demeke Kasaw won the men’s title in the 42km race with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 42 seconds, while Alemtsehay Asefa took the women’s title in 2:30:44.
Only 12 elite international runners competed because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Finishing sixth in the men’s division with a time of 2:23:13, Chou Ting-yin was the first Taiwanese to cross the finish line, while Tsao Chun-yu, the first Taiwanese female runner to finish, took fourth in the women’s division with a time of 2:33:51.
Photo: CNA
After the race, Chou told reporters that he was happy to participate in a marathon, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Tsao said she was pleased that her time was fast enough for her to qualify for the marathon event at next year’s Asian Games.
The 12 elite international runners had arrived in Taiwan early enough to quarantine for 14 days and practice self-health management for another seven days, the event organizers said.
More than 8,000 competitors ran the full marathon — one of only two marathons in Taiwan to be certified as a World Athletics Label Road Race; the other is the New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon — while another 18,000 runners competed in the 21km half marathon. Local runners included 934 international residents from 59 countries.
Seven runners experienced various levels of discomfort and were sent to hospitals for treatment. Two had chest pain and asthma, while five experienced cardiac arrest.
The hospitalized runners have recovered and are under observation, the Taipei City Department of Sports said.
The Taipei Marathon has been held annually in Taiwan since 2001, with runners from Kenya typically dominating the competition each year.
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