Money can move mountains. It can also make marathon runners go faster as was proven yesterday when seven runners smashed a 14-year-old course record with Ethiopian Dereje Abera being crowned men's champion at the 2012 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.
Some might argue the fast times were due to organisers tinkering with the course, the route being shifted from the steep Harcourt Road underpass to take in an easier stretch along Fenwick Pier, but Kwan Kee, chairman of the Hong Kong Amateur Athletics Association, put it all down to money.
'We have increased our prize money by nearly 50 per cent to US$227,000 [HK$1.76 million] this year and I believe this has drawn better quality runners and it shows with these times,' a highly satisfied Kwan said.
Abera, a 23-year-old from Addis Ababa running in only his third marathon, had a memorable first visit to Hong Kong when he pipped Kenyan Eliud Kapchanga to the tape. In the closest finish in the 16-year-old history of the men's race, Abera and Kapchanga crossed the line with the same time of two hours, 11 minutes and 27 seconds. In third place was another Kenyan, Cosmas Mutuku, in 2:11:28.
The winner had to be decided on body positions and the visual judgment of race officials at the finish.
'The rules say when the time is the same, it is down to body positions and our officials declared the Ethiopian had edged out his rival,' Kwan said.