HOUSTON (AP) — Ethiopian runners swept the Houston full and half marathons in record times on Sunday.
Tariku Jufar won the men’s marathon in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 51 seconds, eclipsing the previous best time of 2:07.04 set last year by Ethiopia’s Bekana Daba. Jufar is the fourth straight men’s champion from the African nation.
Alemitu Abera won the women’s race in 2:23.14. The previous record was 2:23.53, set by Ethiopia’s Teyba Erkesso in 2010.
In the men’s half marathon, Feyisa Lelisa won in a personal-best 59:22. That eclipsed the course and American record set by Ryan Hall in the 2007 U.S. Half Marathon championship (59:43).
Belaynesh Oljira won the women’s half marathon in 1:08.26, breaking Shalane Flanagan’s record time of 1:09.41, set in 2010.
