Marshalling error makes Macau marathon longer
Heavy rain and 5am start blamed as competitors run 3km extra in race won by Ethiopian Gemeda
A marshalling error at the start of yesterday's Macau Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon resulted in the leading athletes running an estimated three kilometres beyond the 42.2km distance.
Despite this initial upset, a pack of about 10, mostly African, runners forged ahead of the record 6,000-strong field to battle it out for the US$20,000 first prize.
Heavy rain fell when the race began in the Macau Olympic Stadium at 5am, which probably compounded the marshalling problem, especially as it was dark at the time.
The heavy rain continued to fall, but the leading group remained locked together for much of the two-lap race. The eventual winner, Ethiopia's Haile Gemeda, left his break for the finish line until the final run into the stadium, where he crossed the line in two hours, 23 minutes and 56 seconds.
Kenyan pre-race favourite, Duncan Koech, followed Gemeda over the line just four seconds later to take second place, while Gezaheng Abebe came in close behind and clocked 2.24:11 for third.
"I don't know what happened at the start, as we just followed someone else out of the stadium," Gemeda said. "We were well into things before we realised we were on the wrong route. The cold wind and pouring rain certainly didn't help matters."
Hong Kong's Darren Benson, a former winner of the China Coast Marathon, finished in 2.51:16 to be the leading Hong Kong runner in the men's field and a creditable 23rd overall.