Course record for Fiacconi in Prague as Eluid Keiring (KEN) wins in marathon
debut and Kenyans dominate in San Paulo
24 May 1999 - Kenyan Eluid Keiring won the Prague International Marathon Sunday
in his marathon debut, beating Russian Dimitri Kapitonov and countryman Jimmy Muindi in a
tight race.
Running in warm weather along Prague's cobblestone streets, Keiring finished in 2 hours, 11 minutes 19 seconds.
Kapitonov finished second in 2:11:24 and Muindi was third in 2:11:34.
"The race was hard," a weary Keiring said after the close finish. But he added that he was pleased with his time in the less-than-ideal conditions.
Franca Fiacconi of Italy finished first among women, setting a race record with a time
of 2:28:34.
Meanwhile Kenyan Paul Yego outpaced three compatriots to win the fifth annual Sao Paulo
marathon Sunday.
Yego, 31, finished the race in 2 hours,15 minutes and 22 seconds, beating fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Letting by just 10 seconds. Kenyans Kipkemboi Cherulyot and Joseph Cheromei finished third and fourth, with times of 2:15:55 and 2:15:56 respectively.
"I knew I would win after the 37th kilometer," Yego said after the race.
The Kenyans had started as firm favourites over the 8,000 other runners.
The only surprise was a strong finish by Brazilian Jose Teles de Souza, who was competing in his first marathon. He battled Cherulyot and Cheromei for third place until fading at the end with a fifth place time of 2:16:03. He won a new car for being the first Brazilian runner to cross the finish line.
Yego, who won the Sicily marathon in 1998, earned $16,865 (28,672 reals) for winning the race.
Brazil's Marcia Narlock won the women's competition Sunday in 2 hours, 37 minutes and 21 seconds. She easily beat Poland's Wioletta Kryza (2:39:57) and Canada's Ida Mitten (2:43:45). It was the fourth consecutive win for Brazilian women in the Sao Paulo race and 29-year-old Narlock's second victory in just two weeks. Last week she captured the Porto Alegre marathon.
"Good care, training and food overcomes any fatigue," Narlock said.
