The Kenyan Elisha Rotich, 31, won the Paris marathon on Sunday October 17 under a bright sun. He completed the 42.195 km of the race in 2 h 4 min 21 s, thus improving the record for the Parisian event, held since 2014 by the Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele (2 h 5 min and 4 s).
Ethiopian Hailemaryam Kiros and another Kenyan, Hillary Kipsambu, finished second and third, respectively 19 and 21 seconds behind the winner. The best Frenchman, Yohan Durand, completed the race for the 15e place, in 2 h 9 min 21 s, winning the title of champion of France.
Among women, a trio of Ethiopians won the podium in a pocket handkerchief, in the absence of the big names in the discipline: Tigist Memuye came out on top in 2 h 26 min 11 s, ahead of Yenenesh Dinkesa (2 h 26 min 14 s) and Fantu Jimma (2 h 26 min 21 s). The best Frenchwoman, Alice Mendes, finishes at the 11e place, in 2 h 42 min 23 s.
Thirty months after its last edition in April 2019, with two postponements and one cancellation in 2020, then a date set for the fall rather than the spring in 2021, the Parisian event has allowed tens of thousands of fans to return to the Parisian asphalt, subject to presenting a sanitary pass and wearing a mask in the starting area.
Starting from the Champs-Elysées, the race took the runners to the east of Paris via Opéra and the Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes, before returning west via the quays of the Seine to the Bois de Boulogne and to arrival at Porte Dauphine.
In the absence of the title holders, Ethiopians Abrha Milaw and Gelete Burka, Kenyans Nicholas Kirwa and Joel Kimurer, for the men, and the Ethiopian Sifan Milaku and Kenyan Antonina Kwambai, for the women, were favorites.