Hong Kong Marathon 2023: Kenya’s Kipchumba claims men’s title to keep 100 per cent record, Eticha wins on return to city
- Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba has now won both the marathons he has entered, adding Hong Kong to Munich title
- Fantu Eticha Jimma improves on her third-place finish in 2018 to claim women’s title
Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba won the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday, and if there is anything better than victory on your marathon on debut, it is probably winning your first two.
The 24-year-old Kenyan, running the distance competitively for just the second time in his career, clocked a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes and 48 seconds to cross the finish line first at Victoria Park.
While some three minutes slower than his personal best of 2:07:28, which he set at the Munich Marathon last October, it was still enough to see him come in ahead of Ethiopians Limenih Getachew (2:11:25) and Senbeta Geza Tadesse (2:11:59).
It was a good day all around for Ethiopia, with its women sweeping the podium and Fantu Eticha Jimma going two better than the third place she managed in the 2018 race.
With humidity remaining high throughout the morning at 80 to 100 per cent, Kipchumba said it had been a difficult race for all concerned. Still he said he felt good in his first outing in Hong Kong.
“It is a unique race with the tunnel [Western Harbour Crossing] and the bridge [Tsing Ma Bridge],” he said. “I knew I was coming since October so I had been preparing for over three months.
