Paris Marathon: Ethiopian runners Gelete Burka and Abrha Milaw win 2019 race

Kenzo Tribouillard, AFP | Ethiopia's Abrha Milaw (L) and Ethiopia's Gelete Burka celebrate their victory in the men’s and women’s categories during the podium ceremony of the Paris Marathon on April 14, 2019.

Ethiopian athletes Gelete Burka (women’s race) and Abrha Milaw (men’s race) won the 43rd edition of the Paris Marathon on Sunday, leading a record 60,000 participants to the finish line of a monument-steeped course through the French capital.

Milaw won the men’s race with a time of 2:07:50, while Burka was the fastest woman with 2:22:48. Kenyan Paul Lonyangata, a two-time Paris Marathon winner, was the third-fastest man on Sunday.

In the wheelchair race, Julien Casoli won for a third time. The fastest disabled racer put up a time of 1:36:57.

Pure happiness. Gelete Burka wins the female elite #ParisMarathon! Congratulations! #LifeIsOn pic.twitter.com/wkQJg0aCEV

  Schneider Electric (@SchneiderElec) April 14, 2019

Wheelchair athletes and runners from around the world set off from the Champs-Élysées after 8am on a cold (2°C) and cloudless Sunday morning in Paris. This year’s course ran east through the French capital to the Bois de Vincennes, around that vast forested park, and then west again through the heart of the city, along the Seine on the Right Bank, past the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, and through the Bois de Boulogne. Two landmarks, the Opéra Garnier and the Place Vendôme, were added to the 2019 route.

🎥🔄 START 🏁#ParisMarathon pic.twitter.com/Fa7yyKv9n1

  Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris (@parismarathon) April 14, 2019

A full 250,000 spectators were expected to line the marathon’s route and 3,000 volunteers were involved.

Women made up a record 27 percent of those signed up for the 2019 race.

🆕 Nouveau parcours 🆕
Cette année, tu auras la chance d’admirer 2 nouveaux lieux emblématiques durant ta course: la Place Vendôme et l’Opéra Garnier. ✨
🆕 New route 🆕
Place Vendôme & Opéra Garnier will make you look up from your feet 😍 #ParisMarathon pic.twitter.com/6dyubmIJYh

  Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris (@parismarathon) March 12, 2019

Among the elite women running, one athlete won a late battle to take part. France’s Clémence Calvin, the European marathon silver medallist, was provisionally suspended by the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) on Wednesday for allegedly obstructing a doping test in Morocco last month. The 28-year-old has denied the allegations. France’s top administrative court, the Council of State, issued an emergency ruling late on Friday that lifted her provisional ban.

Calvin crossed the finish line in fourth place on Sunday with a time of 2:23:41 to set a new French record for the distance, pending official validation.

Bon courage aux 60.000 participants de la 43ème édition du @parismarathon.
🥇🥈🥉. pic.twitter.com/PbbNgumTsC

  Cyril Barthalois (@cbarthalois) April 14, 2019

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)