About 7,000 people yesterday took part in competitive foot races at this year’s Kinmen Marathon, said the Kinmen County Government, the organizer of the annual event.
About 1,400 runners from at least 20 countries pounded the pavements on full-marathon, half-marathon and 10km routes on the outlying island county, data from the organizer showed.
The non-Taiwanese endurance racers included about 900 participants from China, Hong Kong and Macau — the first time Chinese athletes participated in the event since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Wu Cheng-ting, Taipei Times
Race results released by the Kinmen County Department of Education showed that in the full marathon, the men’s and women’s divisions were won by Kenyan runners.
Joseph Mwangi Ngare came first among the male runners on the 42km route, with a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 5 seconds, while Jemimah Wayua Musau outperformed her female peers with 2:46.05.
The two Kenyan runners would each take home prize money of NT$150,000, according to the Kinmen Marathon Web site.
Huang Xuemei (黃雪梅), a Chinese amateur runner who previously won the women’s division of last year’s Paris Olympics’ marathon, came first in the women’s 21km race yesterday — her first time participating in the Kinmen Marathon.
Huang completed the course with a record-breaking time of 1:15.46, beating the 1:18.46 record held by Taiwanese athlete Hsu Yu-fang (許玉芳) since 2014.
Meanwhile, in the men’s half-marathon, Taiwanese runner Tien Jui-hsiang (田睿祥) claimed gold with 1:09.16 — his first time participating in the annual event.
The main route of this year’s marathon passed landmarks including Juguang Tower, Lake Shuangli and the Guningtou Archway.
“Sports, education and other exchanges [between China and Taiwan] are all good things,” Kinmen Deputy County Commissioner Lee Wen-liang (李文良) said yesterday.
“I hope Kinmen can become a bridge and play a role in communication between the two sides of the Strait,” Lee added, hinting at the fraught relations between Taiwan and China.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) also participated in the 10km category.
He said he hoped the event could create a “healthy, fun, mutually beneficial and peaceful atmosphere” between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
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