ATHLETICS: Ethiopia's Esa wins Cape Town marathon in course record time

CAPE TOWN, May 24 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Mohamed Esa claimed the men’s Cape Town marathon title in a course record time of 2:04:55 on Sunday as twice-Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya finished a distant 16th.

Esa ran the fastest marathon on African soil and finished ahead of compatriot Yihunilign Adane (2:04:59) and Kenya's Kalipus Lomwai (2:05:06), who both posted personal best times.

"Thanks to the race organisers for giving me the chance to run on my home continent. To break the course record is special for me," Esa said.

"I am very happy to run in Africa, the course is very nice and the support was very good. Eliud is my role model, I respect him so much. I was proud to race with him in Africa."

It was an Ethiopian double as Dera Dida Yami claimed the women’s title in 2:23:18, finishing ahead of compatriots Mestawut Fikir (2:23:46) and Waganesh Mekasha (2:23:57).

Organisers are hoping this year’s event is the final step towards Cape Town joining the prestigious World Marathon Majors in 2027 alongside iconic races in London, New York, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, Sydney and Tokyo.

This year’s race is the final assessment towards achieving that goal after the 2025 event was cancelled due to high winds.

(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Ken Ferris)