Kenyan runner Kenneth Mburu Mungara won the 2019 Taipei Marathon men's division on Sunday (Dec. 15) with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes and 54 seconds; while the female champion, Kenyan Antonina Kwambai, came in at 2 hours, 31 minutes and 27 seconds, according to the race results published on the event's website.
The fastest Taiwanese runner was Chiang Chieh-wen (蔣介文), who won the 2019 National Games' male marathon in October, and finished in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 35 seconds, winning the event’s domestic category for the fourth time. Meanwhile, Chu Ying-ying (朱盈穎), who was the champion in women's domestic category in 2017, won the women’s contest with a time of 3 hours, 4 minutes and 38 seconds.
The marathon, which started 6:30 a.m. at Taipei City Hall, attracted more than 28,000 domestic and foreign runners, a new record for the event, according to CNA. This year’s running route included several historic sites to give runners a feel of ancient Taipei, the news agency said, adding the event organizer modified this year's route to reduce the number of slopes and sharp turns and improve times.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he hopes the Taipei Marathon, which is an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Bronze Label Road Race, will gain Gold Label certification in 2022, according to CNA.
Source：Taiwan News
