Haikou (China), Dec 22 (IANS): Kenya's KemboiI Ezekiel Kipruto and Ethiopia's Meskerem Tesfaye Fikadu on Sunday claimed the men's and women's titles, respectively, in the 2019 Hainan Danzhou International Marathon at Danzhou city in southern China's island province of Hainan.
Kipruto finished in 2:19:51, beating Ethiopia's Tsega Firew Bazie and Kenya's Keiyo Samson Kipchirchir in the men's group.
Fikadu was crowned the women's champion with a winning time of 2:51:03, followed by the Chinese Niu Lihua in 2:52:10, reports Xinhua news agency.
Inaugurated in 2010, the Hainan Danzhou International Marathon featured three races this year: marathon, half marathon and mini-marathon (5km). About 18,000 runners from home and abroad took part in the event.
A torch relay was held before the race on Saturday as Danzhou became the first city in China to receive the flame from Marathon, Greece.
