Kipserem, Gebreslasea win Rotterdam Marathon

Kenyan Marius Kipserem and Ethiopian Leterbrhan Gebreslasea triumphed in the races for men and women, respectively, of the 36th edition of the Rotterdam Marathon here on Sunday.

Under sunny conditions, a leading group of Kenyans and Ethiopians distanced themselves from the rest and in the final kilometres Kipserem and Ethiopian Solomon Deksisa were the only ones battling for the victory, reports Xinhua.

Kipserem placed his final push after 41 kilometres and finished alone on the Coolsingel street. With his time of 2:06:11 hours, he was 11 seconds faster than Deksisa, but not close to the track record, set by both Kenyans Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai in 2009 (2:04:27).

Gebreslasea was the strongest in the women's race. The 25-year-old Ethiopian, who has already won the Hong Kong marathon in January this year, finished in 2:26:15 hours.