Ethiopian Yemane Adhane won the 32nd edition of the Rotterdam marathon on Sunday.

He finished in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 48 seconds, more than a minute slower than Kenyan Patrick Makau’s world record of 2:03.38. The course record of 2:04.27, set by Kenyan Duncan Kibet in 2009, remained out of his reach, mainly because of the relatively cold and windy weather conditions.

Adhane just barely defeated his compatriot Getu Feleke, who finished in 2:04.49. Kenyan favourite Moses Mosop came in third at 2:05.02. Dutchman Koen Raymaekers finished in 2:10.35, a personal record, but saw his Olympic aspirations evaporate as he failed to stay inside the qualifying standard of 2:10.00.

The women’s title went to Ethiopian Tiki Gelana (2:18.57), only the fourth women to ever finish in under 2:19. The top Dutch female athlete was Miranda Boonstra; she came in fourth with a time of 2:27.32. Like Raymaekers, Ms Boonstra failed to meet the qualifying standard (2:27.24), but said she was hoping for leniency from the Dutch Olympic committee as the difference was only eight seconds.

(gsh/ae)

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