Ethiopians dominate Xiamen Marathon

Ethiopian runners swept the top spots in both the men's and women's events at the 2020 C&D Xiamen Marathon on Jan 5, according to local media reports.

Birhan Nebebew Tesfay E claimed the men's title with a time of 2 hours 8 minutes and 16 seconds. His compatriot Medina Deme ARMINO successfully retained the women's crown with a time of 2 hours 26 minutes and 12 seconds. Both of the runners achieved their personal best.

Over 35,000 runners from 41 countries and regions took part in the first IAAF Gold Label Road Race of the new year. The organizing committee invited 24 high level athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Belarus, the United States, Lithuania to compete in the annual event.

Among the Chinese runners, Yang Dinghong took first in the men's field with a time of 2 hours 13 minutes and 50 seconds, while Li Zhixuan first in the women's with a time of 2 hours 32 minutes and 44 seconds.

The organizing committee of the Xiamen marathon is looking to turn the competition into a shining example of environmental protection in China.

The event continued its partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to advocate for the reduction of plastic use, including the use of biodegradable cups in place of disposable paper cups, the use of electronic manuals in place of paper manuals, and the use of brown paper in place of plastic packages.

They also launched a crowdfunding campaign for automated external defibrillators and a plan to establish a book corner for 30 classes in schools in Linxia, Northwest China's Gansu province.