Buze Diriba crowned the 42nd edition of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon with a sub 2:20:00 despite very strong winds. While any hopes for records were blown away the 31 year-old Ethiopian clocked 2:19:34. Kenyans Magdalyne Masai and Sharon Chelimo followed in second and third with 2:20:23 and 2:20:29 respectively.
There was a surprise winner in the men’s race: 29 year-old Ethiopian Belay Asfaw took the honours with 2:06:16. Taresa Bekam followed in second with 2:07:01 while third placed Shura Kitata, the winner from 2017, made it an all-Ethiopian podium with 2:07:02.
A record number of 17,000 entries were registered for the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon.
