Sport

Kenya's Joel Kositany victorious in 35th Belfast Marathon

Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk      2/5/2016.Mandatory Credit - Picture by Justin Kernoghan.The men's race was won by Joel Kispang Kositany (centre).The Kenyan posted a time of 2:17:39, some two minutes faster than his time in last year's marathon. Kositany broke clear in the closing stages to finish ahead of compatriot Eric Koech, with a time of two hours, 17 minutes and 39 seconds.Dan Tanui completed an all-Kenyan podium as he finished third. The 35th Belfast City Marathon is taking place, with more than 17,500 runners participating.The race started at Belfast City Hall and finishes at Ormeau Park. The route takes in streets in the north, south, east and west of the city...
Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 2/5/2016.Mandatory Credit - Picture by Justin Kernoghan.The men's race was won by Joel Kispang Kositany (centre).The Kenyan posted a time of 2:17:39, some two minutes faster than his time in last year's marathon. Alan Lewis - PhotopressBelfast.co.uk 2/5/2016.Mandatory Credit - Picture by Justin Kernoghan.The men's race was won by Joel Kispang Kositany (centre).The Kenyan posted a time of 2:17:39, some two minutes faster than his time in last year's marathon. Kositany broke clear in the closing stages to finish ahead of compatriot Eric Koech, with a time of two hours, 17 minutes and 39 seconds.Dan Tanui completed an all-Kenyan podium as he finished third. The 35th Belfast City Marathon is taking place, with more than 17,500 runners participating.The race started at Belfast City Hall and finishes at Ormeau Park. The route takes in streets in the north, south, east and west of the city...

KENYA’S Joel Kositany gained his third victory in the 35th Belfast City Marathon after a four-way battle for most of the distance. Kositany finished strongly to win by over a minute in 2:17:39 in the best running conditions seen in Belfast for the marathon in some years.

Kositany broke away early on with compatriots Dan Tanui and Eric Koech, as well as Ethiopian teenager Bekele Zakele who had reportedly ran 2:15:23 in China recently. The quartet was stretched across the road, running shoulder-to-shoulder at the halfway point, reached in 68:35. Zakele was the first to break, leaving Kositany, Koech and Tanui to fight for the winner’s cheque of £3,000.

With just three miles to go, Kositany moved to the front and opened a 20metre gap over Koech, with Tanui, who had won the Belfast Half Marathon last September, visibly struggling to keep in touch.

Kositany continued to pile on the pressure and, by the time he reached the finish in Ormeau Park, had opened up a winning margin of 64 seconds over Koech. Tanui held on for third, another three seconds back, in 2:18:46.

Both Koech and Tanui had been jetted in during last week as part of the Omagh-based Project Africa Athletics which had one of its most lucrative days with the pair picking up a combined total of £3,500 in prize money.

For Kositany, it was his third victory in the race. After winning in 2013, he was surprisingly beaten by compatriot Freddy Sittuk the following year before bouncing back to win again in 2015.

Although well shy of his personal best of 2:09:50 from the Tiberias Marathon in 2010, it was his fastest time in Belfast to date but well outside Ethiopian Negewo Urga’s 2012 course record of 2:13:41. It also brought the number of consecutive victories in the men’s race by African athletes to 14 since Scotland’s Simon Pride triumphed in 2002.

With most of Northern Ireland’s marathoners having competed in London or preparing for the Rio Olympics, it was left to Ballymena Runners’ Ben Morrow to lead the locals home in 2:42:41.

In the women’s race, last year's winner Berhan Gebremichael from Ethiopia led all the way to win in 2:48:26 but only had 29 seconds to spare over Ireland’s Laura Graham at the finish.

Gebremichael was well clear at halfway which she reached in 81:15 with Graham next through in 83:23, more than half a minute ahead of Irish Olympian Catriona Jennings in third place.

Graham ran the London Marathon only eight days previously in 2:48:03 but the mother of four showed no sign of undue fatigue and in fact seemed to get stronger as the race progressed.

And unlike in London where she faltered in the last six miles, the Mourne Runners’ athlete ate up ground on the leader back through the city centre before crossing the line in 2:48:55.

Jennings dropped out in the closing stages allowing Czech athlete Radka Churanova to come through for third in 2:51:37. Andrew Annett anchored North Belfast Harriers to victory in the relay after a battle with a strong Queens’ University quintet.