At 5:45 AM Beijing time on February 17,the 2019 Hong Kong Marathon started in batches on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. This event, known as Hong Kong's signature large-scale sports event and one of Asia's toughest road marathons, saw participation from over 70,000 people from 90 countries and regions in the full marathon, half marathon, and other categories.

After intense competition,Kenya's Kiptum won the championship with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 21 seconds, earning the full $65,000 prize. The women's champion was from Belarus, finishing in 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 13 seconds, setting a new personal best.China's invited athletes Li Zicheng and Jiao Anjing finished with times of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 38 seconds, and 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 37 seconds, ranking 16th and 9th respectively.

Jia Er Renjia from Qinghai won the half marathon, continuing the tradition of mainland Chinese athletes winning the championship, with a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 5 seconds. Bian Qi took second place with a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 9 seconds. Hong Kong local athlete Chen Jiahao took third place.

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How challenging is the Hong Kong Marathon course, known as Asia's devil course?

The most notorious aspect of the Hong Kong Marathon is the 'Three Bridges and Three Tunnels' (the 'Three Bridges' are Stonecutters Bridge, Tsing Ma Bridge, and Ting Kau Bridge; the 'Three Tunnels' are Nam Wan Tunnel, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, and Western Harbour Tunnel). The course is narrow, hilly, and has sharp turns, with significant elevation changes when crossing bridges, making it exceptionally difficult.

However, the Hong Kong Marathon was upgraded to an IAAF Gold Label event in 2016. Despite the high registration fees and low acceptance rates, it still attracts many runners looking for a challenge.

This year, the organizing committee made slight adjustments to the event: first,the cutoff time for the half marathon challenge group was moved up from 3 hours to 2 hours and 25 minutes,to avoid affecting the full marathon elite runners and to meet the IAAF Gold Label requirements. Additionally, the starting point for the 10K race was narrowed to a single lane, making it much narrower than before.

Since 2012, the Hong Kong Marathon has attracted over 70,000 participants each year, with this year's participation exceeding 74,000.However, due to high temperatures and humidity, at least 10% of participants have dropped out in the past two years.

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Many elite athletes participated: Li Zicheng, Jiao Anjing, and Jia Er Renjia among them

As the marathon with the highest number of participants in Asia, the Hong Kong Marathon naturally includes many mainland Chinese athletes.Among them, elite mainland athletes Li Zicheng and Jiao Anjing were specially invited,both being among the top 100 athletes in Asia.Mainland athlete Jia Er Renjia participated in the half marathon category.

Looking at the list of invited elite overseas athletes, there were over 14 men with personal bests under 2 hours and 10 minutes, and 4 women with personal bests under 2 hours and 30 minutes.

In last year's Hong Kong Marathon, Li Chunhui narrowly defeated his teammate Liu Hongliang by 1 second to win the championship. Li Shaozhuang and Wang Kun had dominated the top two spots for four consecutive years. This year, Jia Er Renjia and Bian Qi continued the tradition of mainland Chinese athletes winning the top two spots for six consecutive years.

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Race recap: Jia Er Renjia wins half marathon, Kenyan athlete wins full marathon in 2:09

At 6:10 AM,the first batch of full marathon runners started in the dim light. According to the Hong Kong Observatory, the humidity on race day reached 95%, and the temperature peaked at 21 degrees Celsius, adding significant difficulty for the participants.

Around 7:00 AM, the leading group of full marathon runners was still in a tense and fierce battle for positions. Official pacer Felix Kimutai and runner Barnabas Kiptum broke away, leading the following runners by about 30 seconds. Mainland runner Li Zicheng was not among the top twelve. Light rain began to fall.

At around 7:30 AM, near the 25-kilometer mark, official pacer Felix Kimutai withdrew from the race, and Barnabas Kiptum continued to lead.

Ultimately, Kenyan athlete Barnabas Kiptum won the race with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 21 seconds, with Dawit Wolde finishing second. The champion received a $65,000 prize and a $10,000 performance bonus.

Top 10 men's results

Li Zicheng finished with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 38 seconds, ranking 16th among men.

In the women's race, Belarusian athlete Volha Mazuronak won with a time of 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 13 seconds, achieving a personal best on the challenging course, improving by 9 seconds.

Jiao Anjing finished with a time of 2 hours, 49 minutes, and 37 seconds, ranking 9th and earning a $1,200 prize.

In the half marathon,Jia Er Renjia won the men's half marathon with a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 5 seconds.According to the statistics on the China Marathon official website, Jia Er Renjia's half marathon personal best is 1 hour, 7 minutes, and 54 seconds, while Bian Qi's personal best is 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 35 seconds. The two athletes are closely matched in strength.

At the start of today's race, Jia Er Renjia and Bian Qi were neck and neck, competing fiercely. Up to the 19-kilometer mark, they were still running side by side.

In the end, Jia Er Renjia used his strong sprinting ability to win by a 4-second margin over Bian Qi. Hong Kong local athlete Chen Jiahao took third place with a time of 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 21 seconds.

Last year, Jia Er Renjia won the OCC category at the UTMB, becoming the first Chinese athlete to win a world-class trail race, making history. Three months later, at the Guangzhou Marathon, Jia Er Renjia made history again by becoming the first Chinese amateur runner to break the 2-hour and 20-minute barrier. Winning the half marathon at the Hong Kong Marathon today marks a strong start to his racing year.