Kenyan runners won both the men’s and women’s titles in the 2008 ING Taipei International Marathon yesterday.
Sammy Chumba won the men’s title with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes and 37 seconds, while Caroline Kilel took the women’s title, clocking 2:30:44 and knocking 26 seconds off her previous personal best in the process.
Chumba’s countrymen Chelimo Luka Kipkemboi (2:15:43) and Lawrence Kiptoo Saina (2:16:32) came in second and third respectively in the men’s race, while Tabitha Tsatsa of Zimbabwe came second with a time of 2hrs 35mins 46secs and Suzuki Junko of Japan came in third at 2hrs 45 minutes and 25 seconds in the women’s.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Kilel took home NT$1.33 million (US$41,000) in prize money after breaking the 151-minute Taipei marathon women’s record set by her countrywoman Jane Auro in 2006. Chumba collected the first prize of NT$100,000 for his win.
Kilel said she would use her prize money to buy a piece of land in her home country. As a professional athlete, Kilel said, she depends entirely on her sport for a living.
Chumba said he would use his prize money to make improvements to his home and improve his family’s living conditions.
Local marathoner Wu Wen-chien (吳文騫) won the Taiwanese men’s title in a time of 2:17:24, while Hsu Yu-fang (�?�) won the Taiwanese women’s title in 2:47:00. Wu finished fourth in the men’s marathon and Hsu finished 19th in the women’s.
The 2008 ING Taipei International Marathon kicked off at 7am at the plaza in front of Taipei City Hall, with 121,000 runners from 40 countries taking part in five categories of road racing, said ING Antai Insurance Co, a key sponsor of the event.
A record 27,000-plus runners competed this year, representing a year-on-year increase of 30 percent, the ING said.
This year also marked the last time that the annual road race is held under the title of the “ING Taipei International Marathon,” as the company is now owned by Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), which in October announced it would acquire ING Life Insurance (Taiwan) for US$600 million.
The new owner is expected to continue holding the race, as ING had previously signed a three-year contract with the Taipei City Government, which is still valid next year.
The title, however, may have to be changed.
“We are confident that we will do it well, of course,” Fubon president Victor Kung (龔天行) said in a TV news interview yesterday. “The company is also known for its healthy image.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHELLEY SHAN
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
RSS