Robert Cheruiyot won the Boston Marathon, ahead of Deroba Merga, left,  in record time.
Robert Cheruiyot won the Boston Marathon, ahead of Deroba Merga, left, in record time.

Kenyan breaks course record in Boston



BOSTON // Kenya's Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot smashed the course record to win the Boston Marathon men's race on Monday, while Ethiopia's Teyba Erkesso captured the women's title by a few steps in a sprint finish. In favourably cool conditions with a light wind, Cheruiyot clocked two hours, five minutes and 52 seconds as he crossed the finish line, holding off Ethiopians Tekeste Kebede and Deriba Merga, the defending champion.

Cheruiyot said he wanted to stick with Merga, who broke from a large pack of runners at mid-race. "If somebody is a champion, you try to go with them," said the 21-year-old, who broke Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot's previous course record of 2:07:14 set in 2006. The two are not related. He said he acted on the elder Cheruiyot's advice and set out on a blistering pace. "Most of the people already confuse me with Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, With me and Robert, we talk the same language, but in different stripes. I think people can see me and they can see him and compare."

Cheruiyot, who owns a farm back home, earned a bonus of US$25,000 (Dh91,825) for the course record on top of the $150,000 that goes to the men's and women's winners. His plans for the winnings: "I am going to buy some cows." The victory gave Kenya its 18th men's victory in 20 years. Ryan Hall led at the halfway mark before finishing fourth in 2:08:41, the fastest time for an American man. "My goal going into the race were to have fun and to run free," Hall said.

No American man has won the race since Greg Meyer in 1983. "We are training hard, but that doesn't mean we're going to hit a home run every time," said Meb Keflezighi, who finished fifth and had hopes to become the first American to win in New York and Boston back-to-back since Alberto Salazar in 1982. In the women's race, Erkesso built a big lead going into the final few miles but was reeled in by Russia's Tatyana Pushkareva, which set up a furious sprint to the finish line.

Erkesso won by three seconds in 2:26:11. Last year's winner, Kenya's Salina Kosgei, was third. The Ethiopian said she tried to drive the pace from the start, fearing that other runners had stronger finishing kicks."I knew the Russian lady was coming from behind me. 'She doesn't pass me today,' I'm thinking in my mind," Erkesso said. "I didn't believe I would win it until the very end." * Agencies

England's Ashes squad

Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. 

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

Company%20Profile
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Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
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A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
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Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.

Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.

 Ben Okri,

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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
Notable cricketers and political careers
  • India: Kirti Azad, Navjot Sidhu and Gautam Gambhir (rumoured)
  • Pakistan: Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi (rumoured)
  • Sri Lanka: Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan (rumoured)
  • Bangladesh (Mashrafe Mortaza)
SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

IF YOU GO

The flights

FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.

The tours

English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people. 

The hotels

Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.

St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.

 

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray 

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

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Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Zidane's managerial achievements

La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017


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