Runners from Kenya and Ethiopia ensured they left lasting impressions during the inaugural edition of the Hainan Marathon in China on Sunday.
Over seventeen thousand runners from over 32 nations took part in the event, held in Southern China’s region.
Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes took early control of the race and soon there were only three runners in the leading park.
With about a kilometre to the finishing line, Ethiopia’s Endale Belachew was inadvertently tripped by eventual winner, Jamin Ekai Ngaukon from Kenya who clocked in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 52 seconds.
Belachew ended up second, while China’s Li Zicheng placed fifth. In the women’s race, Ethiopian Tinbit Giddy Weldegebriel outsprinted the competition to win the event in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 26 seconds.
China’s Zhang Jingxia was sixth.
