Kibii destroyed a strong field to win the men’s race in a new course record time of 2:08;05.
Kenya’s Fredrick Kibii and France’s Marie Bouchard are the 2023 champions of the La Route du Louvre (The Louvre road) marathon.
Kibii destroyed a strong field to win the men’s race in a new course record time of 2:08:05. Ethiopia’s Mitku Dekeba and Abednego Cheruiyot of Kenya were forced to settle for second and third places in personal best times of 2:08:18 and 2:08:40.
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Kibii’s win caught many by surprise as he was not in the leading pack until after the 30th km mark when he started making a move towards them.
As they passed through the 40th km mark, Kibii was right behind Dekeba. He then outsmarted the Ethiopian and sprinted to the finish line.
Meanwhile, the women’s race was a two-woman show with Lydia Langat and Bouchard fighting for top honours. However, Bouchard sprinted ahead of Langat with about 7km to go.
Bouchard took top honors in a time of 2:42:54 as Langat came a distant second in 2:46:24. Another Frenchwoman, Dorothee Thuillier settled for third place in 2:57:51.
The course has now been promoted to be the fourth fastest course in France after Paris, Reims and La Rochelle.
Elsewhere, the Kenyan duo of Solomon Kirwa Yego and Rodah Chepkorir Tanui reigned supreme at the Copenhagen marathon.
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Kirwa won the race in 2:09:12 ahead of compatriots Kenneth Keter (2:09:41) and Edwin Kiptoo (2:09:51).
On her part, Tanui clocked 2:23:14 to cross the finish line first as Valentina Mateiko placed second in 2:25:05. Great Britain’s Phily Bowden sealed the podium in a new Personal Bes of 2:29:16.