Paris Marathon: Kenyan Elisha Rotich wins and smashes the record of the event

It seemed impossible with a marathon in the fall, a plateau that is not the most demanding in the world while all the major marathons in the world (Chicago, Berlin, London, New York) are taking place at the moment.

But the Paris marathon record was broken this Sunday morning.

It dated back to 2014 and was owned by three-time Olympic champion in the 5 and 10,000m, the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele (2h05′03 ′ ').

This Sunday morning, in the cool of autumn, the Kenyan Elisha Rotich smashed the record of the Ethiopian legend in 2:04:18. He broke his personal best by more than a minute, a feat. To put it simply, Rotich ran each 100m of the event in less than 2 seconds at over 2 km / h on average. For most runners, even the toughest, it's the equivalent of a sprint: ““ It's great and I'm very happy, ”says the winner. I enjoyed the race. I broke my personal best, thank you to the organization and to the Parisian public for supporting me. »Simple words that sum up the unique performance.

The first Frenchman, Yohan Durand, finished the race in less than 2h10 in 2 09 ′ 15 ′ 'exactly.

He achieved the minimums for the next European Championships by also beating his personal best: “I knew I was in good shape but it had to be confirmed.

I felt that I had this time in the legs.

It is an additional step taken in my progress.

“For the women, the victory goes to the Ethiopian Tigist Memuye in 2h26′09 ′ '.

This is the first time in 30 months that the Paris marathon has returned.

It had not taken place since April 2019 due to the pandemic.

There were 35,000 runners at the start.

There will undoubtedly be more next April than the event will revert to its original date.

It is scheduled for April 3, 2022.