Kenyan Paul Lonyangata retains his title by winning on Sunday the Paris marathon in 2 hours 06 minutes 21 seconds. His compatriot Betsy Saina is the winner in the women competition
Kenyan Paul Lonyangata retained his title by winning Sunday the Paris marathon in 2 hours 06 minutes 21 seconds (unofficial), having exceeded in the last hectometres his compatriot Betsy Saina, winner in 2h 22 min 56 sec of the women’s event .
In order to have a group finish, the organizers had programmed quirky starts: the ladies had taken the start with 16 minutes and 26 seconds ahead of the men, the difference between the best men’s and women’s standings in the Parisian plateau 2017.
Both races were decanted only in the last kilometers, especially for the ladies, without hare at half-time.
Aged 25, Lonyangata was a little slower than its success in 2017 (2h06: 10). Very fresh at the finish, Kenyan was ahead of his compatriots Mathew Kisorio (2:06:36) and Ernest Ngeno (2:06:41), the youngest of the podium (22 years).
In the women’s competition, 29-year-old Saina preceded compatriot Ruth Chepngetich (2:22:59), Lonyangata’s stable partner, and Ethiopia’s Gulume Chala (2:23:06).
Another favourite, the Ethiopian Amane Gobena , gave up, suffering from a thigh, after hitting the corner of a table during the last refuelling.
