Ethiopian Abeje Ayana wins the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris

The young Ethiopian Abeje Ayana won the Paris marathon on Sunday, his first race over the distance, in 2h7'15''.

Ethiopian Abeje Ayana won the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris on Sunday in 2h7'15''. He is ahead of his compatriot Guye Adola (2h7'35''), who was the favourite, and the Kenyan Josphat Boit (2h07'40''). It is the ninth time that an Ethiopian has won the men's race, and the third in the last four editions after Abrha Milaw in 2019 and Deso Gelmisa last year.

At 20, Ayana was competing in his very first race over the mythical distance, he made a masterstroke of it. The young man was however one of the candidates to follow, with a half-marathon record at 59'39'' in Poznan in 2021.

At 35 kilometers, they were still four men in the lead, with also a third Ethiopian, Adeledelew Mamo. Ayana then set off on his own and took a 20-second lead over Adola, his 12-year-old senior, which he maintained until the finish line.

first Frenchman, Amdouni 13th

Contested in the Parisian grayness and in conditions made difficult by the rain and the wind, the race could not allow the athletes to set new records.

The first Frenchman, Mehdi Frère, is 10th in 2h11'5''. Morhad Amdouni, 3rd last year, finished in 13th place in 2h12'45, far from the French record he had set a year ago (2h5'22''). This race did not allow them to achieve the minimum of 2h08'10'' required for the Paris Olympics.

Amdouni was, however, in the recovery phase. Held back by injuries, he was running his first marathon in a year and is aiming for the Budapest World Championships this summer (August 19-27).

posted Sunday April 2nd