Kenya's Komen wins Athens Classic Marathon

John Kipkorir KomenWins 37th Athens Classic Marathon

Kenyan John Kipkorir Komen won the 37th Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday, clocking two hours, 16 minutes and 34 seconds in the rain. 

The 42-year-old swept past Rwanda’s Felicien Muhitira, who had led from the start, about 600 meters from the finish. 

Muhitira, 25, took second in 2:16.43 with Greece’s Konstantinos Gkelaouzos. 29, in third at 2:19.02. 

Kenya’s Daniel Muindi in 2:21.39 was fourth and Morocco’s Khamis Bakari fifth in 2:23.36. The women’s race was won by Eleftheria Petroulaki of Greece clocking 2:45.50. 

Some 20,000 runners from dozens of countries took part in the authentic marathon which began near the tumulus erected for the Greek dead from the Battle of Marathon in 490BC and ended in the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896. [AFP]