THE HAGUE, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's Lemi Berhanu won the men's Amsterdam Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 33 seconds on Sunday, narrowly missing the course record, while compatriot Buze Diriba set a women's course record of 2:16:12 despite rainy conditions.
Berhanu, the 2016 Boston Marathon champion who also won last year's Beijing Marathon, was making his third appearance in Amsterdam.
The Ethiopian came within three seconds of the men's course record of 2:03:30, held by Kenya's Geoffrey Kipchumba, despite rain and slippery roads.
Kenya's Nicholas Kipkorir finished second in 2:03:39, six seconds behind Berhanu, while compatriot Patrick Mosin took third in 2:03:58.
In the women's race, Diriba marked her Amsterdam debut by breaking the previous course record of 2:16:52, set by fellow Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw in 2024.
Diriba, 32, lowered the mark by 40 seconds to lead an Ethiopian sweep of the women's podium.
Aynalem Desta finished second in 2:17:06, while Meseret Belete placed third in 2:18:06. ■
