Ethiopian wins London Marathon

Posted on Tuesday 27 April 2010 - 13:06
Kent Mensah, AfricaNews editor in Accra, Ghana
An Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede won the London Marathon men's title over the weekend to break a six-year run Kenyan champions.

Kebede, who was last year's runner-up, clocked two hours five minutes 19 seconds.
At the second position was Kenya's Emmanuel Mutai while Morocco's Jaouad Gharib was third. Russians finished 1-2 in the women's race, with Liliya Shobukhova crossing the finish line in 2:22:00 for the 42.195-kilometre race, 19 seconds ahead of Inga Abitova.
The 2010 London Marathon marked the 30th anniversary of the event that attracts thousands of participants from different nationalities and race. It is a charity sports that is expected to raise millions of pounds for important causes across the world.
Approximately 37,000 runners participated this year, collectively supporting an array of charity organizations including Well Child, Help the Hospice, Spinal Research, Breast Cancer Care, Water Aid, and Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“The London Marathon is immensely proud of its record as a charity fund raising event. We provide our runners with an opportunity to raise huge amounts for good causes every year,” said Dave Bedford, Race Director of London Marathon in an ABS CBN news report.
The 26-mile course started from Blackheath in the Southeast and finished at St. James’s Park in the West End, passing through different London landmarks like Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Houses of Parliament, and Buckingham Palace.