Kenenisa Bekele wins Paris Marathon, Top 10 Results

PARIS (Sporting Alert) — Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia made a very impressive and winning marathon debut after he won the Paris Marathon on Sunday with a new course record performance.

The three-time Olympic champion on the track and 5,000m and 10,000m record holder, crossed that finish line in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 3 seconds – breaking the previous course record set by Kenya’s Stanley Biwott two-years-ago.

Bekele’s fellow Ethiopian countryman Limenih Getachew was second in 2:06:49, with Luca Kanda of Kenya running 2:08:01 for third place.

The top five finishers all ran personal bests, and the list was completed by Kenyans, as Robert Kwambai took fourth in 2:08:48 and Jackson Limo taking fifth in 2:09:05.

In the women’s race, Flomena Cheyech of Kenya also finished in a new personal best of 2:22:41 to dominate the race and showed why she was listed as the overwhelming pre-race favourite.

Yebrqual Melese of Ethiopia was over four-minutes behind Cheyech in second place with a time of 2:26:21, with third place going to fellow Ethiopian runner  Zemzem Ahmed, in 2:29:35.

Men
1 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 2:05:03
2 Limenih Getachew (ETH) 2:06:49
3 Luca Kanda (KEN) 2:08:01
4 Robert Kwambai (KEN) 2:08:48
5 Jackson Limo (KEN) 2:09:05
6 Gideon Kipketer (KEN) 2:10:35
7 Mike Kigen (KEN) 2:10:58
8 Ketema Behailu (ETH) 2:13:23
9 Mark Kiptoo (KEN) 2:13:58
10 Ahmed Ezzobayry (FRA) 2:15:34

Women
1 Flomena Cheyech (KEN) 2:22:44
2 Yebrqual Melese (ETH) 2:26:21
3 Zemzem Ahmed (ETH) 2:29:35
4 Faith Chemaoi (KEN) 2:31:59
5 Gebisse Godana Derbi (ETH) 2:36:27
6 Martha Komu (FRA) 2:36:33
7 Aheza Kiros (ETH) 2:38:12
8 Laurane Picoche (FRA) 2:39:22