The Shenzhen International Marathon course was improved under 2:10 this Sunday

The first runner to cross the finish line was Edwin Kipngetich Koech from Kenya, who finished the marathon in 2:09:44. Koech took home a prize of US$20,000.

The runner-up prize went to an Ethiopian contestant, Bekele Muluneh Metaferia, who was only 56 seconds faster than the second runner-up, Samuel Ndungu Wanjiku, also from Kenya. Metaferia was awarded US$15,000, while Wanjiku received US$10,000.

The first woman to cross the finish line was Mulu Seboka Seyfu from Ethiopia. She finished in a time of 2:27:12, according to the organizer.

Kenyan runner Flomena Chepchirchir Chumba and Ethiopian runner Ashu Kasim Rabo finished in second and third place, respectively.

The first Chinese contestant to finish the full-length marathon was a 28-year-old man named Zhang Zhenlong from Inner Mongolia. It took him 2 hours 20 minutes and 43 seconds to finish the race, approximately 11 minutes longer than the Kenyan winner.

“I’m very satisfied with the result because it’s my best result in recent years. Today’s weather is very comfortable and the drizzle during the race also helped me maintain my strength,” Zhang told the Shenzhen Daily.

posted Monday December 17th