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October 31, 2016

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Marathon win is 3rd for Mokoka

A SOUTH African runner won the Shanghai International Marathon for a third time yesterday.

Stephen Mokoka, who won the men’s full marathon in 2013 and 2014, crossed the finish line at Shanghai Stadium in 2 hours 10 minutes and 18 seconds.

“It’s my third victory here, though the time was not fast enough,” he said. “The weather was great at the beginning, but the latter part of the race became difficult when the temperatures rose. I hope I can compete again next year.”

The 31-year-old was among the 30 world-class runners who were invited by the organizers to take part this year.

The women’s event was won by Ethiopian Roza Dereje Bekele, who also ran a personal-best time of 2:26.18 — two seconds ahead of runner-up Margaret Agai from Kenya.

With the temperature ranging between 13 and 17 degrees Celsius, the cloudy morning was perfect for the 38,000 participants, who took off from the Bund at 7am. Former Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang fired the starting shot.

The 42.2-kilometer full race attracted 20,000 runners, while 8,000 took part in the 21km half marathon. The 10km and 5km races each drew 5,000 runners.

For the first time the finish line for the full and half marathons was set inside Shanghai Stadium, which received a thumbs-up from the runners.

Twenty-two ambulances and more than 700 medical personnel and volunteers were on hand along the routes to tend to any emergency.

A unnamed male runner lost consciousness and collapsed at the finish line. He was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by the medical staff and rushed to hospital. Organizers said he was in stable condition by noon. Eight other participants were also sent to hospitals due to various kinds of discomfort.




 

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