Benard Biwott of Kenya and Betuda Hirpa of Ethiopia were the winners of the Paris Marathon on Sunday.
Both were building on incredible wins last time out – and there was more than a touch of deja vu as just seconds separated Hirpa from Dera Dida in echoes of the dramatic Dubai Marathon finish from January.
Here’s how the two races played out in the French capital…
Men’s race – Kenyan dominance
Youngster Biwott made his mark on the world stage when winning last year’s Frankfurt Marathon on debut last year in a time of 2:05:54.
And he bettered that by nearly half a minute here as he crossed the line in 2:05:25.
That equates to an average pace for the 42km of under three minutes per kilometre, 2:59 to be precise.
And it meant he won by 47 seconds from Djibouti’s Ibrahim Hassan.
Hassan prevented a clean sweep of the top five by Kenya as Sila Kiptoo, Enock Kinyamal and Dominic Ngeno came third, fourth and fifth respectively.
A double-figure group had run together for the first three quarters of the race and it was only inside the last 10km that Biwott started to move clear.
Women’s race – So close again for Hirpa over Dida
Bedatu Hirpa is another athlete who is rapidly coming to the fore having notched a big PB of 2:18:27 when winning the Dubai Marathon earlier this year – after a finish which went viral on social media.
The dramatic nature of that race – when Hirpa overhauled training partner and fellow Ethiopian Dera Dida in the finishing straight – made global headlines and catapulted her onto the world stage.
They were locked together again for all but the last 200 metres or so here and while she didn’t get under 2:20 in Paris, Hirpa proved that win was no fluke. And she celebrated in similarly exuberant style after stopping the clock in 2:20:45, just four seconds in front of Dida – there were five seconds between them in Dubai!
Kenya’s Angela Tanui was just 22 seconds behind as she rounded out the podium in third.
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia had been in the mix for the first 15km as she looks to rediscover past glories but she slowed dramatically after that point as she faded out of contention.
Paris Marathon 2025 results
MEN:
- 1. Benard Biwott (KEN) – 2:05:25
- 2. Ibrahim Hassan (DJ) – 2:06:13
- 3. Sila Kiptoo (KEN) – 2:06:21
- 4. Enock Kinyamal (KEN) – 2:06:32
- 5. Dominic Ngeno (KEN) – 2:06:37
WOMEN:
- 1. Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) – 2:20:45
- 2. Dera Dida (ETH) – 2:20:49
- 3. Angela Tanui (KEN) – 2:21:07
- 4. Magdalena Shauri (TZ) – 2:21:31
- 5. Kasanesh Baze (ETH) – 2:24:35
