Eritrea’s Ghirmay Ghebreslassie became the first teenager to win an Olympic or World Championships marathon, shocking the Kenyan and Ethiopian favorites to open the meet in Beijing on Saturday.
Ghebreslassie, 19, won the first Olympic or World Track and Field Championships gold medal for his country. He crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 27 seconds, winning by 40 seconds over Ethiopian Yemane Tsegay.
The pre-race favorites finished more than two minutes behind, led by reigning Olympic and defending World champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda (sixth place; 2:14:42) and two-time Boston Marathon winner Lelisa Desisa (seventh; 2:14:53).