PARIS: Ethiopian runner Bedatu Hirpa won a thrilling women’s Paris Marathon on Sunday while Kenyan Benard Biwott romped to a comfortable victory in the men’s event.

In cool conditions, Hirpa, 25, came on strong in the final metres of the race to overtake compatriot Dera Dida to win by just four seconds in 2hr 20min 45sec.

It was Hirpa’s second marathon of the year, following her victory in Dubai in mid-January when she beat Dida in a similar finish.

Kenyan runner Angela Tanui finished third in 2:21:07.

Biwott also claimed his second victory at the distance, dropping all of his rivals with 10 kilometres still to run and finishing in 2:05:25, a new personal best.

It was, in fact, only the second marathon for the 22-year-old who also won his previous outing in Frankfurt in October last year.

Ibrahim Hassan from Djibouti, who was the only one to give chase when the Kenyan made his move, finished second in 2:06:13, ahead of another Kenyan, Sila Kiptoo.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2025