(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Ethiopian athlete Fikadu Girma defeated thousands of runners on Sunday at the 2014 Banque du Liban Beirut International Marathon.
Girma won the 42.195 kilometer race in 2:12.28, according to Race Director Wissam Terro. The first Lebanese to finish the race was Omar Issa with a time of 2:34.
In the female 42 kilometer race, Ethiopia’s Molahtas Tscja scored a team of 2:29.12, narrowly beating Kenya’s Monica Jepkoech who had a time of 2:30.
The first Lebanese woman to pass the finish line was Shirine Njeim who scored in a time of 3:09.Several of Beirut’s streets were shut overnight Saturday and Sunday morning to make way for the 37,153 runners from 94 countries who registered for the annual marathon. Terro says most of the runners participated in the five and 10 kilometer races.The event is organized by the Beirut Marathon Association, and sponsored by Lebanon’s Central Bank.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia was invited by the Beirut Marathon Association as a special guest at the event. This year’s marathon was held under the slogan of “love, peace, run.”
Watch LBC’s preview report on the Beirut Marathon below:
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAQ0fDM4Kq0″ width=”500″ height=”300″]