Yemane Adhane of Ethiopia and Helena Kirop of Kenya won the annual Fubon Taipei Marathon with record-breaking times yesterday.
Adhane clocked 02:10:24 to win the men’s race, while Kirop finished in 02:27:36 for the women’s title, both breaking the previous records to bag an extra NT$1 million (US$32,000) on top of their winner’s purse of NT$1 million each.
The marathon, one of biggest road racing events in Taiwan, took place this year along Taipei’s riverside paths.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
The flat terrain gave the athletes a good chance of breaking the records, the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association said.
Adhane, whose personal best was 2:06:30, started strong and led pack over the entire course. He crossed the finish line in a time that was 41 seconds faster than the record set by Luke Kibet of Kenya in 2006.
Adhane said after the race that his flight from Bangkok, where he transited, had been delayed because he was grilled by immigration officials about the purpose of his visit to Taiwan.
His plan to arrive early and recover from his jet lag before the race fell through, Adhane told reporters.
Despite all this, he said, he was very pleased to have won his first marathon title this year and hoped it would bring him luck in his Olympic bid in London next year.
Asked how he would spend the prize money, he said with a smile that as a professional runner, all of his prize money is used to take care of his family and relatives.
Kirop, who ran her personal best of 2:23:37 in a marathon in Italy this year, broke the 2009 record set by Yeshi Esayias -Tesemma of Ehiopia by 2 minutes and 29 seconds.
Chiang Chieh-wen (蔣介文) of Taiwan, who was running with an inflamed tooth, a swollen face and a stomachache, still finished first among local runners with a time of 2:24:19.
More than 120,000 runners participated in the race, which set off early from the square in front of Taipei City Hall.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS