The 41st Mexico City marathon attracted more than 30,000 long-distance runners on Sunday, with Kenyans taking five of the six podium spots.

The African runners finished 1-2-3 in the men’s competition, with Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo outracing countrymen Leonard Langat and Francis Cheruiyot.

On the women’s side, Kenyan Fancy Chemutai claimed first place ahead of Bahrain’s Shitaye Eshete and Janet Ruguru, also of Kenya.

The 42.2-kilometer race began at the southern end of the capital in Ciudad Universitaria adjacent to the university’s Olympic Stadium, ending in the heart of the Centro Histórico with the finish line in the Zócalo in front of the National Palace.

The runners traversed several of Mexico City’s most iconic boulevards, including Insurgentes Avenue, Ejército Nacional, Presidente Masaryk, Paseo de la Reforma, Avenida Juárez and Avenida Madero, while also crossing Chapultepec Park and running alongside the Alameda Park.

Kiptoo, the 2022 Mexico City Marathon winner, completed his run in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 36 seconds, a personal best. The 31-year-old returned to the winner’s circle after finishing third last year. The 2023 winner — Bolivia’s Héctor Garibay — will hold onto his record (2:08:23) at least another year.

The race for second place was a close one, with Langat finishing in 2:11:30 and Cheruiyot following 5 seconds later.

An embarrassing mix-up for marathon organizers

Chemutai earned first place on the women’s side by holding off Eshete down the stretch, though the exciting finish was marred by race organizers who thought Chemutai, who was wearing her hair short, was a man.

As the 29-year-old Kenyan approached the finish line, race organizers tried to redirect her away from the women’s finish line where the victory tape was stretched across the path. Chemutai ignored the instructions but as she crossed the line, the organizers lifted up the banner so she did not get the thrill of breaking the tape in triumph, Chemutai did raise her arms, however, managing to pull the banner out of the hands of the misguided attendants.

Chemutai finished in 2:29:19 with Eshete close behind at 2:29:22. Ruguru clocked in at 2:30:58 to earn third place.

Ethiopia’s Amare Berise set the women’s Mexico City Marathon record in 2022, posting an impressive time of 2:25:04.

The winners Kiptoo and Chemutai earned 550,000 pesos and a Garmin watch while the second-place finishers took home 245,000 pesos and a Garmin watch. Third-place finishers also received a Garmin watch, along with 180,000 pesos.

Runners finishing fourth through eighth also received monetary prizes.

Mexicans finished 1-2-3 in both the men’s and women’s wheelchair categories. In the men’s race, Fernando Sánchez (1:34:14) was first; Gonzalo Valdovinos (1:35:39) came second; and Marco Antonio Caballero (1:36:08) was third. On the women’s side,: first place went to Yeni Aide Hernández (1:59:14); second place to Ivonne Reyes (2:01:50); and Leticia Sánchez (2:38:45) came in third.

With reports from La Jornada, Animal Político, Infobae and El Financiero