Paris marathon 2022

Jeptum clocks 2:19:48 in French capital, Teklu sets 59:06 course record at Barcelona Half.

In the fight for third place, Cheboi (59:15) prevented an all-Ethiopian podium sweep as the unheralded Kenyan got the better of Dagnachew and Derseh. Kipruto unleashed his final kick at 40km, opening up a 20-second gap and he held on to win the biggest marathon race in his third appearance over this distance. Dagnachew and Teklu took turns at the lead to maintain the rhythm with only Regasa, Derseh and Cheboi for company. Following a fierce sprint, Gelmisa prevailed in 2:05:07, nine seconds faster than the PB he had set in Valencia in December where he had finished runner-up. 15 runners passed through the 10km checkpoint in 29:45, 15 seconds ahead of a second group of nine runners. The Burundian made a brave final effort to reach 15km in 41:52 before dropping out the race and left the favourites on the right path to finish close to the 59:00 mark. The first 5km was covered in 15:39 with just Kipkemboi and Ethiopian duo Gete Alemayehu and Ayanech Awoke matching the pacemaker, while Ethiopia’s Rediet Molla was further behind (16:00). They opened a 50-metre gap over Amdouni who had separated himself from the rest of the field. By 30km, reached in 1:37:44, she had built a one-minute gap over the rest of the field. “The cold weather made the race hard,” said Jeptum, who set a half marathon PB of 1:05:28 earlier this year. They covered the first 10km in 32:23, suggesting a finishing time inside 2:17 – well under the course record of 2:20:55 set by Purity Rionoripo in 2017. Sharon Chelimo and Marion Kibor, who spearheaded the lead group of seven runners, set out at an aggressive pace from the outset in sunny but cold conditions.