SIBERIAN INTERNATIONAL MARATHON, RUSSIA – 20 SEPTEMBER 2015:

Pre-race favourites Albina Mayorova and Laban Moiben of Kenya took wins in from the cold writes Natalia Maryanchik. It was 8°C at the start but little wind alleviated the conditions slightly.

After a 13-year absence Mayorova returned to Omsk for the first time since setting a course record of 2:30:31 in 2002. The 38-year-old more recently finished ninth at the 2012 Olympics. Oksana Fashchenko, a 31-year-old whose PB was 17 minutes slower than Mayorova's and who was contesting just the second marathon of her career, had a lead of more than two minutes after 30km.

But Mayorova closed the gap and took the lead at 40km. Mayorova said that she was going to run a marathon in the spring and then try to qualify for the 2016 Olympic team.

Laban Moiben led the pack comfortably and increased his lead in the closing stages. His his main rivals on paper, defending champion John Kyui and Boris Zhilyaev, faded and finished outside the top five. Though his victory may have appeared easy Moiben needed medical attention after the race. "I felt cold in the end," he said.

Kyui put his disappointing performance down to the problems he had getting to Omsk. After visa troubles his luggage got lost in transit and he had to run in borrowed shoes and kit lent by local athletes.

Including the 5km and 10km races, more than 7000 people took part.

MEN:
1  Laban MOIBEN                KEN  2:18:18
2  Ilya TYAPKIN                     KGZ  2:20:17
3  Andrey MINYAKOV             RUS  2:20:47
4  Tilahun ALIYEV                  AZE  2:25:22
5  Nikolay SHIRCHKOV           RUS  2:26:31
6  Semen KARYAGIN              RUS  2:32:01
7  John KYUI                         KEN  2:32:49
8  Aleksandr PODDUBNYI       KEN  2:33:18
9  Zhoodarbek KOCHKONBAEV  KGZ  2:34:04
10 Denis FILIPPOV                  RUS  2:41:16
                                    
WOMEN:                              
1  Albina MAYOROVA            RUS  2:34:14
2  Oksana FASCHENKO             RUS  2:35:38
3  Mariya KORBITSKAYA            KGZ  2:38:35
4  Olga VESELKINA                   RUS  2:42:04
5  Olesya NURGALIEVA              RUS  2:42:34
6  Veronika LOPATINA               RUS  2:43:40
7  Yuliya KOREPANOVA              RUS  2:44:48
8  Natalya SEREZHKINA            RUS  2:59:30
9  Olga BOGOMOLSKAYA           KGZ  3:03:58
10 Lyudmila DVORYANINOVA     RUS  3:15:07

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