2005-10-24
Greatest Race on Earth competitor finishes first in Nairobi

HONG KONG, 24 October 2005 - Samson Barmao wins the 2005 Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon, the first leg of The Greatest Race on Earth, with time of 2:12:14. This takes Barmao's team, Global Sports Communications, into the lead of The Greatest Race on Earth Main Team Challenge.

Close behind the Global Sports Communications in the Main Team Challenge are the Men's Run for Peace Team and third are the Kenya Vikings Team, with a little over three minutes separating all three.

The Nairobi Marathon was flagged off by Kenya's Minister of Sports, the Hounourable Ochilo Ayacko, at the start near Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Harambee Avenue, on Sunday early morning. The high altitude of 1,600 metres above sea level in addition to the undulating nature of the marathon course make it a world class challenge for running enthusiasts from all over the world.

Local top runner Choi Tat Ming represented Hong Kong in this challenging race. He fought hard and trailed the leading groups to complete the distance in 2:49:58, helping the team follow closely behind Taiwan (2:41:57) and South Korea (2:49:26) in the North East Asia Regional Challenge.

Liu Xiaohuan of Team China, the only Asian female running in the race, finished in third position with a time of 2:50:13, and placed an impressive 10th place overall in the Nairobi Marathon. Xiaohuan says, "I was not satisfied with my results - I wanted to do better. But it was my first time running at such high altitudes."

The Women's Team Challenge is currently being led by Tegla Loroupe's Run for Peace Team thanks to a great run by Irene Jerotich who finished first overall in the women's section with a time of 02:37:54. Judy Kiplimo of Posso Women finished second with a time of 02:48:16.

Last year's winners, the Kenya National Team are set to do well again as their runner Edward Muge takes them into first place in the Overall Nations Team Challenge with a time of 2:18:23. Just under four minutes behind in second place are Zimbabwe with a time of 2:22:11. United Kingdom finished in third place with a time of 2:29:30 following an outstanding run by Ian Fisher.

The 2005/06 Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth, a relay of four challenging marathons across four cities in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong, kicked off to intense competition with double the participants as well as faster times.

Tens of thousands of spectators were on hand to cheer the runners at the starting and finishing points of the marathon. This year saw a total participation of over 12,000 runners, including participants from over 30 countries. The growth of the Nairobi Marathon since its inception in 2003 is testament to the popularity of long distance running that is a national passion in Kenya. This passion is obviously shared by many from across the globe.

The Greatest Race also promotes "Seeing is Believing", through which Standard Chartered has committed to raise US$6 million before the end of 2006 to help restore one million people with visual impairment. In that spirit, two visually-impaired teams, from Taiwan and South Korea, took part in and finished the race.

Greatest Race on Earth Results (provisional) - Leg 1: Nairobi Marathon

Main Team Challenge (open to all teams)

Bonus Pool for Women's Team

Nations Overall Challenge (Open to National Associations only)

Individual Challenge