Gena wins Rome Marathon after barefoot sprint
Published:Monday | March 22, 2010 | 10:45 AM
Siraj Gena of Ethiopia sprinted barefoot to the finish line to win the Rome marathon yesterday, pulling away from two Kenyan rivals near the end.
Gena took off his shoes with about 500 metres left near the Colosseum and then sprinted away from Benson Barus and Nixon Machichim to finish in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 39 seconds.
Gena was paying homage to Ethiopian compatriot Abebe Bikila, who won the 1960 Olympic marathon gold in Rome having run the entire course without shoes.
In the women\'s race, Firehiwot Dado led an Ethiopian sweep of the podium positions in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 28 seconds
Kebebush Haile was second in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 31 seconds and Mare Dibaba third with 2 hours, 25 minutes, 38 seconds.
About 15 thousand runners took part in the race.