Paris: Ethiopian Abrha Milaw upstaged two-time defending champion Paul Lonyangata to clinch the Paris Marathon men’s event here Sunday.
Milaw clocked 2:07.05s, with Kenyan rival Lonyangata (2:07.29s) coming in third as 49,155 runners took to the streets of the French capital in cold, clear conditions. Milaw compatriot Asefa Mengistu (2:07:25s) took silver.
Gelete Burka produced a spurt of extra gas in the final kilometre to ensure an Ethiopian winner in the women’s race with a time of 2:22:48s. Her compatriots Azmera Gebru (2:22:52s) came second while Azmera Abreha (2:23:35s) finished third.
Meanwhile, France’s Clemence Calvin, who was only cleared to race Friday after the last-minute lifting of a temporary ban for evading a doping test last month in Morocco, smashed the French women’s record. She finished fourth in 2:23:41s, bettering by 41 seconds the previous national record set by Christelle Daunay in 2010.
“I stuck with it right to the end, I don’t care what my detractors think,” said Calvin. “There was only a very small minority of malicious people.”
“I have the courage of those who withstand a blow and are planted like the Eiffel Tower. I’m not afraid of anything or anyone,” she added.
