Ethiopia’s Ayele Abshero on Friday won and set a world record of 2:04:23 for the fastest-ever debut at the . Abshero lead three other men under 2:05 and a total of 14 under 2:08, the most ever to exceed those marks in one race. Abshero’s Ethiopian countrywoman Aselefech Mergia won the women’s race in 2:19:31, as Kenya’s Lucy Kabuu and Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba also ran under 2:20. They became the . A total of nine woman broke 2:25, another single-race record. Abshero, 21, was the world junior cross country champion in 2009. Both Abshero and Mergia collected $250,000 for winning, the largest first-place prize in professional marathon running.
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