Kenyan men sweep honors at Athens Marathon

ATHENS, Greece – Frederick Cherono led a Kenyan sweep at the Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday while Alemu Zinach of Ethiopia won the women’s division.

Cherono finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 28 seconds. He was comfortably ahead of countrymen Barnabas Ruto, who was timed in 2:17:09, and Christopher Kosgei, another 10 seconds back. Cherono, who won the Turin Marathon in April, led a group of 11 Kenyans to the finish line.

Zinach finished in 2:41:11, seven seconds ahead of countrywoman Hiruet Areba. Russia’s Svetlana Ponomarenko was third in 2:41:42.

A 42-year-old Greek runner died of a heart attack early in the race, police said. About 4,000 runners, including opposition Socialist leader George Papandreou, competed.

The race traces the legendary course taken in 490 B.C by the messenger Pheidippides, who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Athenians over an invading Persian army at the plain of Marathon before dropping dead from exhaustion.