Kenyan Hillary Kipchumba atop the men's podium at the 2009 Casablanca Marathon - second was Sammy Rotich and Amos Matei Tirop (© Freelance)
The second edition of the Grand International Marathon of Casablanca took place today (25), and saw some 15,000 runners representing fifteen countries.
The podiums of the men’s and women’s races were dominated by the presence of Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes who occupied all the rungs.
Kenyan Hillary Kipchumba, 4th the last year, finished in 2:12:37 to win the men’s race, beating his compatriots Sammy Rotich (2:13:36) and Amos Matei Tirop (2:13:57).
The first Moroccan to cross the line was Abdelkarim Boubker in 12th in 2:21:59.
The race record of Moroccan Boubker El Afoui (2:10:44; 1999) remained unchallenged.
In the women’s race Ethiopian Amane Chawo was also the clear winner in 2:34:32, in front of her compatriots Yeshi Esayais (2:36:09), who was third in 2008, and Tgist Abdi (2:39:38).
Morroco’s Samira Raif ended up fourth in 2:41:00, the same finishing position as last year when she clocked 2:38:19.
Mohammed Benchrif for the IAAF
