A Kenyan Sweep At The Paris Marathon

Kiptoo, Jeptoo come away victorious.

It was originally billed as a match between distance-running rivals Ethiopia and Kenya, but the 35th Paris Marathon ended up as a Kenyan sweep. Benjamin Kiptoo took home the men’s title (2:06:31), while Priscah Jeptoo nabbed the women’s title in 2:22:52.

The race started under Paris’ famous Arc de Triomphe under sunny and warm skies. The first 5K (14:50) was much faster than anticpated.

However, in the next 5K the race slowed as the runners encountered an uphill section near the Bastille.

The half was reached in 1:02:39.  At that point, pacemaker John Komen found another gear and took off with no one capable of responding. But at the 30K mark, Komen dropped out.

By the 40K mark, the eventual winner, Kiptoo had established the lead by 25 seconds.

The women’s race was different than the men’s with the leaders injecting the pace on the uphill while slowing down on the downhill. By 10K it looked as if it would be an Ethiopian-dominated race, but 5K later, the Kenyans moved to the front.

“I’m very happy today in Paris, because I wasn’t expecting to win,” the winner, Priscah Jiptoo said afterwards. “It is now a new personal best and this fulfills all the good training.”

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