Athens: Raymond Bett led a Kenyan sweep of the podium at the Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday, winning in 2 hours 12 minutes and 40 seconds.
Bett was followed by Jonathan Kipkorir with a time of 2:14:5 in second place and Edwin Kimutai third in 2:15:21.
Lithuania's Rasa Drazdaukaite won the women's race in 2:31:6, followed by Olga Glok of Russia in 2:33:51 and Svitlana Stanko of Ukraine in 2:38:59.
"I had never won any marathon. It is my first time, so I feel good," the 26-year-old Bett said. "This is the first time I have run the course and I hope to be invited back next year and break the (course) record."
The course record, set at the 2004 Olympics by Stefano Baldini of Italy is 2:10:55, nearly seven minutes off the world's best of 2:03:59, set by Ethiopia's Heile Gebrselasie in Berlin two years ago.
"This course is different. A lot of hills, a lot of climbing up and down," Bett said.
While most marathon courses are relatively flat, the classic Marathon race is anything but, with steady uphill section for much of the course between the 17th and 32nd kilometer marks (about 10th to 20th mile marks) making it difficult to attract top-class runners seeking fast times. The women's record for Athens, also set at the 2004 Olympics, is 2:26:20 by Japan's Mizuki Noguchi.
Drazdaukaite said that it was "very hot" during the race. Despite a 9 a.m. start, temperatures hovered around 20-21 degrees Celsius (68-70F) during most of the race.
A group of six Kenyans were grouped closely together in the lead at the 30 kilometer mark, before Bett began gradually pulling away. While Julius Korir, Jacob Yator and Josephat Ngetich faded badly, Poland's Henryk Szost and Radoslav Gardzielewski surged forth to capture fourth and fifth place, respectively. Szost, 28, and Gardzielewski, 42, were competing for the World Military Championship, as was Drazdaukaite, the overall women's winner.
More than 12,500 runners are taking part in the race which coincides with the 2,500th anniversary of the legendary run from Marathon to Athens that announced to the Greeks their victory over the Persians.
Only about 20 elite runners competed because the event budget was limited to €1.5 million ($2.1 million) as a result of Greece's financial crisis.
Also Sunday, 5- and 10-kilometer races were held, with more than 8,000 taking part. Prime Minister George Papandreou completed the 10K race. The 58-year-old politician finished 1991st out of 3,252 who completed the race.
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