OTTAWA – Tsegay Yemane of Ethiopia has won the Ottawa Marathon, recording the fastest time ever run on Canadian soil. Yemane completed the race in a time of two hours, six minutes and 54 seconds.
He was almost a minute and a half ahead of his closest challenger.
The previous record for fastest marathon on Canadian soil was two hours, seven minutes and five seconds set at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October 2013.
Eric Gillis was the top Canadian, giving him the title of 2014 Canadian marathon champion.
Gillis finished the race in a time of two hours, 13 minutes and 47 seconds. Gillis is originally from Antigonish, N.S., but now lives and trains in Guelph, Ont.
Rob Watson, a native of London, Ont., was the second Canadian to cross the line. His time was two hours, 16 minutes and 37 seconds.
Gillis’ time was well off the Canadian marathon record of two hours, 10 minutes and eight seconds set by Jerome Drayton in 1975.
Tufa Tigist of Ethiopia won the women’s race in a time of two hours, 24 minutes and 31 seconds. That’s a women’s record for the Ottawa course.
Rhiannon Johns, 22, took the Canadian women’s championship in a time of two hours, 47 minutes and 12 seconds. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native ran for the University of Alabama at Birmingham until she graduated in 2013.
A total of 48,000 runners were registered for races including a 10K, half marathon and marathon over the weekend.
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