Kenyan runners top both male, female events in Taipei Marathon

Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Kenyan runners won both the men's and women's marathon events of the 2015 Taipei Marathon Sunday, earning them each a cash prize of NT$800,000 (US$24,360).

William Chebon Chebor took first place in the men's event with a time of two hours, 16 minutes and 15 seconds, while his compatriot, Nancy Joan Rotich, finished first in the women's event at 2:36:42.

The cash prizes they received could have been even higher -- NT$1.8 million each -- if they had set a new race record, according to the organizers.

A total of 27,000 people participated in the annual urban marathon, which is made up of three different events -- a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 10 kilometer run.

Among local participating runners, Ho Chin-ping (何盡平) was the fastest runner in the men's marathon event, finishing Sunday's race in 2:31:15.

Ho, who has qualified to attend the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said he treated the Taipei Marathon as a training course aimed at adjusting his running speed. He felt satisfied with his performance, he said.

In the women's marathon, Fu Shu-ping (傅淑萍) ended the race with a time of 2:51:56, the best performance among the local women.

Coaching track and field at a junior high school, Fu said her performance in the Taipei Marathon was not as good as her scores during training. She will review what needs to be improved.

It is the first time Fu attended the full marathon event of the annual urban race in Taipei.

(By Lee Yu-cheng and Elizabeth Hsu)ENDITEM/ke