Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo crossed the finish line of the Mexico City Marathon in first place, threw himself on the ground to express his gratitude for the victory and immediately embraced his compatriots Leonard Langat and Francis Cheruiyot.
The objective was achieved. After 42.195 kilometers of effort, the Kenyan runners confirmed their dominance in the 41st edition of the route, which started at Ciudad Universitaria and had the Zócalo as its finish line.
The route was good, although a bit hard at the end, I feel happy to be here again and that my country took the first three places. Mexico is a place where I like to compete because the people cheer you on all the way.
said Kiptoo, who repeated the triumph obtained in 2022 to become the first double winner of the event since Peruvian Raúl Pacheco achieved it a decade ago.
A group of seven African competitors took the lead from kilometer 2. With their lanky ebony bodies, the long-distance runners devoured the capital’s asphalt without anyone daring to even come close.
They marched along Insurgentes, Nuevo León, Chapultepec, Presidente Masaryk, National Army, Juárez and Republic of El Salvador streets to the Zócalo.
Kiprop Kiptoo (2:10.36 hours), Langat (2:11.30) and Cheruiyot (2:11.35) were the fastest and regained their country’s supremacy in the capital’s marathon. It is not for nothing that Kenya is the second country with the most medals in athletics, the product of a mix of tradition and necessity.
After crossing the finish line, the runners received immediate medical attention due to the exhausting effort of competing at 2,240 meters above sea level. First aid personnel gave them oxygen, checked their heart pressure and glucose levels, and gave them muscle massages. After a few minutes, they regained their vitality.
This time there were no surprises like in the 2023 edition, when Bolivian Héctor Garibay relegated Langat and Kiptoo to second and third places, respectively.
They also reign in the women’s branch
As soon as she finished the race, Fancy Chemutai knelt down, said a prayer and celebrated her triumph in Mexico. The Kenyan had a great day for her country by crossing the finish line in first place in the women’s category with a time of 2:29.19 hours followed by Shitaye Eshete, from Bahrain, with 2:29.22, and her compatriot Janet Ruguru, with 2:30.58.
I had a planned strategy and it worked well. I like to run in historical places.
he commented.
30,000 runners participated in the Mexico City Marathon, 500 of them foreigners.
The first place in each branch took 45 thousand dollars (about 866 thousand pesos), the second 20 thousand (385 thousand) and the third 10 thousand (192.5 thousand pesos).
Athlete from Veracruz takes the prize
As a child, Tomás Luna ran barefoot with his friends in the town of El Limón, Veracruz.
No one at that time could have imagined that the mischievous little boy would reach the big leagues of athletics and make a living from it even into his adult years.
At 47 years old, Luna became the best Mexican in the 2024 Marathon by finishing ninth. I am happy with what I achieved, the time can always be improved, but it was not bad. I am grateful to the fans who always supported me, as well as to my wife and my daughter.
commented the marathon runner.
Tomás Luna is not an improvised runner, as he won the silver medal in the 10,000 meters at the Mayagüez 2010 Central American Games in Puerto Rico; he ran in the Marathon at the Guadalajara 2011 Pan American Games and also the 42.195 kilometers at the London 2012 Olympics.
I like competing here, I’ve been participating for four consecutive years and people always encourage you to keep going even when you feel like you can’t. It wasn’t bad for my almost 50 years.
The long-distance runner received a prize of 25,800 pesos, plus a bonus of 50,000 pesos for being the best Mexican.
Fernando Sánchez, Gonzalo Valdovinos and Marco Caballero took the top three spots in the wheelchair category. In the women’s category, Yeni Hernández, Ivonne Reyes and Leticia Sánchez won.
At the start of the race, one of the competitors fell when his chair hit a drainpipe. The athlete recovered and continued the race.
#Kenyans #reign #Mexico #City #Marathon
– 2024-08-28 14:06:11
