Ethiopians dominate the women’s Eurasia title

Defending champion Vincent Kiplagat of Kenya wins his second consecutive victory at the 33th Eurasia Marathon and earns a prize money of $50,000. Ethiopians dominate the women’s competition and clinch the top four spots, with Alemitu Abera winning the gold.

Vincent Kiplagat of Kenya won the rain-soaked Eurasia Marathon yesterday in Istanbul, clinching his second consecutive victory at the intercontinental event. The Kenyan athlete finished the inaugural marathon 2 hours 10 minutes and 58 seconds. Three Ethiopian athletes followed Kiplagat - Tarıku Jufar was the runner-up in 2 hours 11 minutes 31 seconds; Tsegay Gebreselassie clinched the bronze in 2 hours 13 minutes 39 seconds and Kasime Adilo Roba finished fourth in 2 hours 14 minutes and 20 seconds.

Ethiopians dominated the women’s competition of the Eurasia Marathon. The top four athletes were all Ethiopians, with Alemitu Abera winning the gold in 2 hours 27 minutes and 56 seconds. Her fellow countrywomen Fatuma Sado, Tsega Gelaw and Ashu Kasım followed Abera, respectively. Albina Mayorova of Russia finished fifth to become the highest-ranked non-Ethiopian female athlete.

The top Turkish athlete in the race was Bekir Karayel, who finished fifth in 2 hours 15 minutes and 48 seconds. Other Turkish athletes Sabri Kara and Erkan Kuş finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

The top Turkish woman was Sultan Haydar. With the results, Haydar, along with Bahar Doğan and Ümmü Kiraz, who also ran below the Olympic threshold of 2 hours 37 minutes, booked their places at the 2012 London Olympics.

The winners of the marathon in the men’s and women’s categories were awarded $50,000 each. The runner-ups received $25,000, the bronze medal winners were paid $15,000 and the fourth-place winners earned $10,000 each.

Kiplagat led the 33th edition of the Eurasia Marathon, which was run under a cold and rainy weather from the start to the finish line. A group of nine athletes were in the lead in the earlier stages of the race, however, the competition was between Kiplagat and Tarıku Jufar of Ethiopia after the 30th kilometer mark passed.

The two athletes ran side by side until the very last kilometers, but Kiplagat was stronger and dominated his opponent in the last hundreds of meters.

Also yesterday, thousands of people enjoyed walking from Asia to Europe over the Bosporus Bridge in the “fun run” event of the marathon. Despite the heavy rain, especially in the early hours, people enjoyed the view from the bridge.

Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş said the fun event was more a march than a race.

“We now call this a public march,” he told reporters after giving the start of the marathon. “The elderly, the young, people from all segments of the society are here today to have fun. The event might have caused some minor traffic problems, but I’m sure that the people of Istanbul will show tolerance.”

Istanbul Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu said it was a great event with the participation of over 100,000 people despite the rain. He congratulated everybody who participated in the fun run.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com