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.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard
GLOBAL: The slogan would be advertised in popular tourist destinations in North America and Europe, such as Champs-Elysees and Times Square, the agency said “Taiwan: Waves of Wonder” is to be the country’s new tourism slogan for the next 10 years, the Tourism Administration said yesterday, adding that it would be showcased in commercials at the Olympic Games in Paris and other major cities and travel fairs around the world. The new slogan, logo and theme song, which were unveiled at a news conference in Taipei, marked the agency’s latest effort to attract 10 million international visitors to Taiwan this year, a goal that it readjusted earlier this year, as China has yet to lift its travel ban to Taiwan. The administration created the “Taiwan: Touch
BOOST TO SPORTS? The Executive Yuan said that the amendment was introduced to attract professionals to Taiwan, and increase the incentives for naturalization The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year. The 183-day requirement does not apply if an eligible applicant has lived legally in the territory of the Republic of China for more than five continuous years. Taiwan’s professional basketball leagues are expected to benefit from the amendments, which would allow them to recruit more players from overseas. Prior to the passage of the amendment, the