Ethiopian runners took the spoils in both men's and women's sections of the 2018 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) International Marathon that took place in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwest China, on December 2.
Xinhua reports that Belay Olkeba Jene from Ethiopia won the men's marathon, setting a course record with a time of 2:20:49, and his compatriot Getiso Tsehay Gebre took the spoils in the women's marathon in 2:35:00, with Chinese runner Zhang Deshun following closely in second place.
The 2018 SCO Kunming International Marathon was the third edition of an event that was first run in 2016. Over 20,000 participants from China and across the world reportedly took part in this year's run, with an 81 year-old runner notably featuring as the eldest participant.
The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has eight full members — China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are four observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.
