A young runner from Eritrea has won gold at the first event of the 2015 IAAF World Championships.
In the men's marathon today, which opened the Beijing games, 19-year-old Ghirmay Ghebreslassie completed the winding, point-to-point course in hot, humid conditions in 2:12:27 . He becomes the youngest-ever winner--male or female--of any road event at the world championships, and has earned his country the first ever IAAF gold medal.
Ghebreslassie is now firmly on the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series IX leaderboard, at second place with a score of 25 points.
In first place on the Series IX leaderboard is Yemane Tsegaye of Ethiopia, who won silver. The 2015 Boston Marathon runner-up crossed the finish line today in the Bird's Nest in 2:13:07 and now has 32 points.
Munyo Solomon Mutai, of Uganda, notched a 2:13:29 finish and earned a bronze medal.
2015 Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia finished seventh, notching a time of 2:14:53. He now is tied with Ghebreslassie in second place on the Series IX leaderboard.
Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich, the defending Olympic and world champion, took sixth with 2:14:42, and is now in third place in the AWMM standings.
The top athlete from the Kenyan federation was 22nd-place winner Mark Korir at 2:21:19.
2014 TCS New York City marathon winner Wilson Kipsang, and world record holder Dennis Kimetto did not finish the race; 23 other athletes also had to drop out.
Current AWMM Series IX Leaderboard
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