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Kenyan Moiben wins Xiamen International Marathon
James Moiben won the Xiamen International Marathon luckily on Saturday as his compatriot Josephat Kiprono was less competitive for a leg injury. Moiben, 26, was invited to take part in this year's race in Xiamen, China, with other 15 foreign runners from seven countries and regions. The runner kept his pace very well during the race and held a position firmly in the leading group to cross the finishing line first in 2 hours 10 minutes and 54 seconds for the top prize of US$25,000. Josephat Kiprono, runner-up of the Rotterdam marathon last yearand with a personal best of 2:06:44, was the favorite to win in Xiamen but finished eighth in 2:14:57 after injuring his right leg midway. Kiprono said, "My leg is hurt, so I cannot run normally. I am satisfied with my performance today as I held on to finish the whole race." Both the Kenyans said that they want to compete in Xiamen next year. "I'm happy to win here, and I hope I can come back," Moiben said. Chinese Li Hongzhu became the runner-up with 2:11:43, and Terefe Yae held the third place with 2:11:45. Antoni Pena, the second best marathon runner in Spain, catched the sixth spot with a time of 2:13:17. The 33-year-old Spanish will participate in the marathon event in this summer's Athens Olympic Games. In the women's event, with the absence of China's most famous runner Sun Yingjie, defending champion Zhou Chunxiu from China took the victory easily in 2:23:28. Li Helan of China's national team and Ham Pong Sil from DPR Korea split the silver and bronze medals in 2:28:17 and 2:28:32 respectively.
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