Kenyans dominate Vancouver Marathon

Vancouver: Kenyan runners made a clean sweep of the Vancouver Marathon as Thomas Omwenga won the men`s title for the fourth time while Lucy Njeri took the women`s race.

With sunny conditions and the temperature hovering around 17 degrees Celsius Sunday, Paul Kimugul added to the Kenyan dominance in capturing the half marathon in a record time of one hour four minutes and 18 seconds, shaving 30 seconds off the previous best posted by countryman Kip Kangogo last year. Vancouver`s Natasha Fraser took the women`s half marathon in 1:15:19. The 33-year-old Omwenga (2:24:08) broke free from fellow Kenyan Benard Onsare (2:24:10) two kilometres from finish and sprinted home to claim the $3,474 first prize. Defending champion Gezahgn Eshetu of Ethiopia finished a distant third in 2:25:23. Omwenga, winner of the Vancouver Marathon in 2007, 2008 and 2010, credited his training partner Onsare for pushing him to victory. Canada`s largest marathon through the streets of Vancouver and attracts around 16,000 participants, including 4,965 runners for the 42.1-kilometre main race. IANS