Ethiopian athletes sweep titles at Shanghai International Marathon

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Ethiopian athletes won both the men and women's title at the 2018 Shanghai International Marathon which kicked off on a rainy Sunday morning.

The 21-year-old long distance runner Seifu Tura Abdiwak claimed the men's title clocking 2:09:33 on his maiden Shanghai event. The result was nearly five minutes slower than his personal and season best with 02:04:44 at the Dubai Standard Chartered Marathon in January this year.

Yebrgual Melese Arage won the women's title with a time of 2:20:38 – a record time for the women's race at Shanghai. The 28-year-old Ethiopian ranked second clocking 2:27:47 at the Dongying Yellow River Marathon in May 2018. Her personal best time was 2:19:36 in Dubai.

Chinese male runner Guan Yousheng from Guizhou Province crossed the finish line with a time of 2:18: 52. Chinese female runner Li Zixuan was seventh in the women's group.

The 2018 Shanghai International Marathon, November 18. /VCG Photo

Founded in 1996, this year's run was the 23rd Shanghai International Marathon. A number of 38,000 participants ran this year, with 25,000 in the 42-kilometer marathon, 6,000 in the 10km and 7,000 in the 5.5km event.