Ethiopia won the women's race at the Beijing International Relay
Marathon?in Beijing?on Sunday while Kenya won the men's
event.
Ethiopia completed the 42.195-kilometer course in two hours 18
minutes eight seconds, ahead of defending champions China.
China, led by world 10,000m bronze medalist Sun Yingjie and
Olympic 10,000m champion Xing Huina, finished in 2:19:36 while
Japan ranked third in 2:24:32.
The men's title was won by the Kenyans, who clocked 2:04:17 for
the honor.? Spain and Russia split the sivler and bronze
medals, in 2:04:47 and 2:05:57 respectively.
According to the organizers, over 3,000 international and local
runners took part in the six groups. It is the biggest ever in the
event's 20-year history.
The winners of the international men's and women's races were
awarded with US$20,000 each.
The race started and finished from the giant Tiananmen Square in
downtown area.?
(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2005)