PARIS — Kenyan Benard Biwott and Ethiopian Bedatu Hirpa won the men's and women's Paris Marathon on Sunday.
Biwott won the race on his debut and clocked 2 hours, 5 minutes and 25 seconds, eight seconds faster than last year's winner Mulugeta Uma.
He dropped his rivals with about 10 kilometers (6 miles) to go and placed 48 seconds clear of Ibrahim Hassan of Djibouti and 56 seconds clear of countryman Sila Kiptoo.
Hirpa's race was far closer as she overtook countrywoman Dera Dida in the final meters on Avenue Foch, and beat her by just four seconds.
Hirpa finished with a winning time of 2:20.45, while Kenyan Angela Tanui finished third in 2:21:07.
Both winners clinched their second marathon victory, with Biwott winning in Frankfurt last year and Hirpa winning in Dubai earlier this year.
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