Luke Kibet of Kenya won the marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 59 seconds on Saturday, claiming the first gold medal of the 2007 track and field World Championships.
Mubarak Hassan Shami of Qatar was second in 2:17,18, and fast-finishing Viktor Rothlin of Switzerland was third in 2:17,25.
Kenya’s only previous World Championship men’s marathon win was at Rome in 1987.
Kibet, a 24-year-old prison guard, emerged from a big pack about halfway through the race and pulled ahead of a small leading group that included Shami about 8km from the finish.
Yared Asmeron of Eritrea was fourth in 2:17,41, just ahead of Tsyoshi Ogata, who led three Japanese runners in fifth, sixth and seventh places.
Kenya’s William Kiplagat, who faded late after sharing the lead at stages, was eighth.
Two-time World champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco did not compete, deciding to forgo the championships after having taken extra time off following the London marathon. — Sapa-AP