Credit: VdL

Kenyan runner John Komen has secured his third victory in the ING Night Marathon Luxembourg.

The 2019 edition of the ING Night Marathon Luxembourg, now in its fourteenth year, brought together 16,000 participants. Never before had an athlete won this marathon three times. This changed on Saturday, however, when 41 year-old John Komen won for the third time, adding to his victories in 2015 and 2016.

The Kenyan athlete finished in 02:16:03 hours, followed in second and third place by his compatriots Joseph Kyengo Munywoki (02:18:53) and Philip Kiplagat Birech (02:20:16), respectively. The fastest Luxembourger was Philippe Gillen, who finished in eighth place in 02:40:55. 

Among the female runners, three Kenyan women also dominated the marathon: Bette Jematia Chepkwony finished first in 02:38:53, followed by Rebby Cherono Koech (02:39:27) and Sarah Jerop Lagat (02:41:46). Karin Schank was the first Luxembourger to finish in fifth place in 03:05:21.

Luxembourg runners experienced even greater success in the half marathon. Indeed, two women from Luxembourg made it to the winner's podium: Liz Nepper came first in 01:25:20 ahead of Jackie Mores (01:30:00), followed by France's Amélie Franc in third place (01:30:41). In the men's category, the Belgian Justin Mahieu (01:10:27) won, followed by the two Luxembourgers Christophe Kass (01:11:30) and Yannick Lieners (01:13:02) in second and third place.

The Team Run also enjoyed great popularity, with four runners sharing the challenging Luxembourg marathon track. It was also attended by a bipartisan team of politicians made up of Martine Hansen (CSV), Eric Thill (DP), Paul Zens (Déi Gréng) and Georges Engel (LSAP).