Kenyan athlete Bernard Biwott has secured a hefty payout after winning the Paris Marathon – one of the highest-paying marathons in the world.
The 22-year-old proved too strong for his opponents on Sunday, April 13, as he clocked a personal best time of 2:05:24 to claim the prestigious title.
The race featured one of its strongest elite fields to date, including France’s top marathoner Hassan Chahdi, who was returning to the spotlight after an impressive showing at the London Marathon, where he clocked 2:07:30 at the 2024 London Marathon.
However, it was Biwott who stole the show with a tactical masterclass, particularly in the final stages.
After staying with the leading pack for a large chunk of the marathon, Biwott broke off at the 35-kilometre mark, turning up his afterburners through the Bois de Boulogne.
Biwott eventually opened an 11-second gap between himself and his closest opponent, with that gap expanding to 30 seconds by the time he crossed the finish line.
Djibouti's Ibrahim Hassan came in second with a time of 2:06:13, which was also a new record for his country. Another Kenyan, Sila Kiptoo, came in third with a time of 2:06:21.
The 48th edition of the Paris Marathon drew an impressive field of 56,000 runners, who were all competing for a slice of the Ksh73 million (€500,000) prize kitty. But the heftiest prize went to Biwott, who secured the first-place cash prize of Ksh 7.3 million.
Kiptoo, who finished the race in third place, secured a respectable cash prize of €20,000, approximately Ksh2.8 million.
The remaining prize money was distributed among the top 15 male and top 10 female finishers, with amounts going lower based on placement.
Notably, Biwott was a heavy favourite to win the Paris Marathon after earlier securing a victory in the Frankfurt event. His triumph in Paris cemented his place as one of Kenya's fastest-rising long-distance athletes.
Elsewhere, more Kenyan secured wins in European marathons, with Mark Kosgei Kiptoo winning the Zurich marathon with a time of 2:09:16. He was followed by another Kenyan - Joel Kipsang Kositany – who clocked a time of 2:11:25.
