Winter Olympics

Defar win's women's half marathon; Ekiru upsets Lilesa

Published Jun. 3, 2018 6:50 p.m. ET

SAN DIEGO (AP) Two-time Olympic gold medalist Meseret Defar of Ethiopia won the women's Synchrony Rock `n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon on Sunday while Titus Ekiru of Kenya upset Olympic silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia in the men's race.

The elite runners in the half and full marathon had finished long before the race was halted for about 10 minutes and rerouted after a police officer accidentally shot himself in the leg while pursuing a hit-and-run suspect who pointed a weapon at police and was eventually arrested on the roof of a parking structure near the finish line in downtown.

Defar, a two-time Olympic champion in the 5,000 meters, finished in 1 hour, 8 minutes, 26 seconds, well ahead of Jane Kibii of Kenya, who clocked 1:12:00. Kaitlyn James of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was third in 1:13:54.

Ekiru won the men's race in 1:01:02, 16 seconds ahead of Lilesa, who won the silver medal in the marathon at the Rio Olympics. Josphat Kipchirchir of Kenya was third in 1:02:21.

August Brautigam of Reno, Nevada, won the marathon in 2:33:28. Sammy Cheruiyot of Kenya was second in 2:34:23 and Matt Seifert of Shawnee, Kansas, third in 2:41:38.

Karen Lockyer of Austin, Texas, won the women's race in 2:55:25, followed by Katrina Graham of Santa Clarita, California, in 3:29:38, and Elizabeth Welch of New York in 3:06:11.

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