Dube Jilo of Ethiopia is ecstatic after his thrilling victory in yesterday's Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.
The 30-year-old policeman from Addis Ababa stayed in the leading pack before sprinting to the front 5km from the end. He finished in two hours, 23 minutes and 22 seconds, beating Zimbabwe's Elijah Mutandiro by two seconds to land the winner's prize of US$13,500 (HK$105,000). 'It was a very difficult course and very tough,' Jilo said.
The women's marathon was won by Irina Bogacheva of Kyrgyzstan in an SAR all-comers record of 2:33.44, fending off the twin Russian challenge of Irina Safarova - last year's champion - and Natalia Volgina. 'It was just like a training run,' Bogacheva said.
More than 10,000 runners took part in the marathon, half marathon and 10km race.