Judith Jeptum and Deso Gelmisa earn victories in 45th edition of the event as Morhad Amdouni breaks long-standing French record

There were fast times at the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon on Sunday (April 3) when Judith Jeptum set a course record of 2:19:48 to win the women’s race and Deso Gelmisa of Ethiopia won a close men’s race in 2:05:07.

Jeptum was an emphatic winner as she finished three minutes ahead of her nearest rival, Fantu Jimma (2:22:52) and Besu Sado (2:23:16) of Ethiopia. In doing so she beat Purity Rionoripo’s course record of 2:20:55 from 2017.

After making her move at around 28km, Jeptum cruised home an impressive winner in a PB to boot. “It was hard and very cold, too cold for me,” she said referring to the temperatures of only 2C on the otherwise sunny start line.

“I spent a long time alone at the front, but I stayed strong in the final 15 kilometres. Beating the record here in Paris is a real treat. A shout-out to everyone who helped me to prepare, especially my coach and training partners.”

Gelmisa triumphed ahead of fellow Ethiopian Seifu Tura (2:05:10) and Amdouni as the latter clocked 2:05:22 to beat Benoit Zwierzchiewski’s national record of 2:06:36 from 2003.

Gelmisa and Tura had broken away from Amdouni in the latter stages and Gelmisa produced the strongest sprint to win on the Avenue Foch.

“I’m really pleased with this win, although I felt cold for most of the race, especially in the first 10 kilometres. It wasn’t easy, but my training in Ethiopia paid off,” he said.

Amdouni, the European 10,000m champion from 2018 and winner of the European Cup 10,000m in Birmingham last summer, smashed his three-year-old PB of 2:09:14 and took more than a minute off the French record.

“I put the Eiffel Tower back where it belongs because, today, people are going to talk about Morhad as a marathon man,” he said.

“I still need more experience over this distance, but it feels great to beat the record and, what’s more, to finish on the podium next to the Ethiopian regulars. There was a moment when I thought I was going to catch up with the two in front, but something was missing. I’ll get better, especially at the refreshment stations, where I wasn’t able to grab any pouches. This record means a lot to me, it settles the score.”

? ?????? ?? ?????? !

?? Morhad Amdouni a pris une magnifique 3e place en 2h05’22’’ au #ParisMarathon ce dimanche matin !

⚡ Il efface le chrono national de référence établi par Benoît Zwierchiewski au même endroit en 2003 : 2h06’36’’ !

? @stadion_actu pic.twitter.com/5pNyQwMmhh

— FFAthlétisme (@FFAthletisme) April 3, 2022

Zwierzchiewski said: “I’m honoured and proud to have seen Morhad beat my French record. He’s a well-rounded, exceptional athlete. It was nice to have my record stand for so long. Everything fell into place. Morhad had shown us glimpses of what he’s capable of in specific training sessions and today he brought it home. Well done!

“He showed flashes of brilliance in the marathon. The European record (2:03:36 by Bashir Abdi of Belgium) is certainly not beyond his reach in the coming years. I think he could hit 2:04 on a faster course and with more experience under his belt.”

Julien Casoli (1:38:36) took the men’s wheelchair title for the fifth time in Paris.