February 23, 2014, TOKYO (AFP): Dickson Chumba of Kenya won the men’s race at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday in a meet record of two hours, five minutes and 42 seconds as Kenyan and Ethiopian runners dominated the event.
The 27-year-old Kenyan was followed home by Tadese Tola of Ethiopia at 2:05:57 and fellow countryman Sammy Kitwara at 2:06:30.
Chumba broke his own personal best time of 2:05:46 he clocked in winning the Eindhoven Marathon in 2012.
Runners from the two African countries swept the top seven spots in the men’s race and the top five in the women’s.
Tirfi Tsegaye Beyene won women’s race in a meet record of 2:22:23. Born in Bekoji in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region, she comes from a town renowned for producing world class runners such as Kenenisa Bekele and the Dibabas sisters.
Fellow Ethiopian Berhane Dibaba finished second at 2:22:30 and Lucy Kabuu of Kenya third at 2:24:16.
Tsegaye, 29, made her marathon debut in 2008 when she won the Porto Marathon. She won the Paris Marathon in 2012 and the Dubai Marathon last year. She set her personal best of 2:21:19 when she finished second at the 2012 Berlin Marathon.
Under cloudy skies, about 36,000 runners took part in the eighth staging of the Tokyo event which was upgraded last year to one of the world’s major marathons, with the others comprising Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
Tirfi
Tsegaye poses with her winner’s trophy and second placer Birhane
Dibaba, left, and third placer Caroline Rotich, right, of Kenya for
photos during an award ceremony for the women’s race of the Tokyo
Marathon, in Tokyo, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014
1 Dickson Chumba (KEN) 2:05:42
2 Tadese Tola (ETH) 2:05:57
3 Sammy Kitwara (KEN) 2:06:30
4 Michael Kipyego (KEN) 2:06:58
5 Peter Some (KEN) 2:07:05
6 Geoffrey Kipsang (KEN) 2:07:37
7 Deressa Chimsa (ETH) 2:07:40
Women
1 Tirfi Tsegaye (ETH) 2:22:23
2 Birhane Dibaba (ETH) 2:22:30
3 Lucy Kabuu (KEN) 2:24:16
4 Caroline Rotich (KEN) 2:24:35
5 Janet Rono (KEN) 2:26:03
- AFP/nd
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