Abu Dhabi: Favourites Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya and Lorna Kiplagat of The Netherlands topped the men's and women's field respectively in the Zayed International Half Marathon but the record holders could not better their best timings on a hot and sultry evening.
The western vicinity of the Emirates Palace Hotel, which was converted into a mini stadium with the finish line and temporary stands stood up to cheer and winner of the world's richest Half Marathon as the Kenyan crossed the finish.
Wanjiru completed the 21-km distance in 1 hour and 33 seconds with late entrant Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania taking second place nine seconds behind.
The Ethiopian pair of Esitu Windimu and Tsegaya Kabede finished third and fourth with Rwanda's Dieudonne Disi completing an African sweep of the top five places in the men's event.
It was Wanjiru's second win in the UAE after his RAK Marathon win two seasons ago but the 22-year-old could not rewrite the record books with the heat and humidity weighing him down.
In the women's section, Kiplagat almost had to race against herself and while that gave her another triumph inside five days, like Wanjiru she could not better her world record in the 21-km event.
Kiplinger, who won in Puerto Rico on Sunday, scored another emphatic win with over two minutes separating her from the second-placed Debela Barhane from Ethiopia with another Ethiopian, Geee Wami in third place.
Wanjiru and Kiplinger carried home $300,000 each and both said the heat and humidity did take its toll on the record-breaking aspirations.
While the loudest cheers were reserved for the professionals, the thousands of school children who began to touch the finish line about 15 minutes after they started in the 4-km race and then continued to do so much after the stars had reached home, were also cheered all the way to the finish.
Thousands of school-children, a large number of UAE national, expatriate and international athletes were all part of the Zayed International Marathon which had a total purse of US$ two million on offer.
The event, held under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs and organised by the Armed Forces Officers Club, did wear a festive look with lot of activities on the sidelines.
Apart from the 21-km event, there was also a 7-km event and a 4-km race with the start at the Marina Mall vicinity and the finish at the Emirates Palace Hotel.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Hydra Properties, International Petroleum Investment Company, Al Jaber Group, Abu Dhabi Company for Airports, Emirates Advanced Investments and etisalat are among the major sponsors of the event.
Results
Men:
- Samuel Wanjiru (Kenya) 1 hrs 00.33 secs;
- Fabiano Joseph (Tanzania) 1:00.42
- Esitu Windimu (Ethiopia) 1:01.16;
- Tsegaya Kabede (Ethiopia) 1:01.45
- Dieudonne Disi (Rwanda) 1:02.24
Women (Half Marathon):
- Lorna Kiplagat (Netherlands) 1:08.52;
- Debela Barhane (Ethiopia) 1:11.23;
- Gete Wami (Ethiopia) 1:11.30;
- Hilda Kibet (Netherlands) 1:11.37;
- Rita Jeptoo (Kenya) 1:02.24.
