Ruptly
"Kenyan running legend Eliud Kipchoge joined thousands of elite distance runners on Sunday for a historic Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, officially launching his highly anticipated seven-continent global running tour on African soil. Footage shows the 41-year-old two-time Olympic champion warming up alongside the elite field before crossing the starting line. Thousands of spectators lined the streets, waving flags and holding placards as the racers passed through the Mother City. "Africa deserves appreciation because all the best athletes in the world are from Africa. So we need to be here every year. Africa is the continent of the marathon," said one of the marathon participants. The event carried major significance for South Africa, as Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and tournament officials attended the marathon while the race underwent its final assessment to become the first African event added to the elite Abbott World Marathon Majors series. "Last year, we unfortunately had to cancel the event because of safety [due to high winds]. This is our second year of being adjudicated, so we'll find out. But we are quietly optimistic that we've ticked all the boxes in terms of becoming a world major," said Francois Peinnar, founder of Cape Town Marathon. While all eyes were on Kipchoge, the day belonged to Ethiopia's Mohamed Esa. The athlete blew past the competition to claim first place in a staggering 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 55 seconds - completely obliterating the previous course record and clocking the fastest marathon time ever recorded on the African continent. Fellow Ethiopian Yihunilign Adane secured second place at 2:04:59, followed tightly by Kenya's Kalipus Lomwai in third at 2:05:06. Kipchoge, running a highly conservative pace, crossed the line in 16th place with a time of 2:13:29. Despite the distance from the podium, Kipchoge's 'Eliud's World Tour' will proceed to its next global stops, heading to Porto Alegre, Brazil on July 12, followed by the Melbourne Marathon in Australia on October 11."
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