Kenyans triumph in Murten race
Nearly 9,000 competitors took part in the 75th Murten to Fribourg race on Sunday, run in hilly countryside over a distance of 17.17 km.
The race was won by 17 year-old Kenyan John Mwangani in a time of 52'08"2, the third fastest time in the history of the race.
The fastest woman was also Kenyan, Helen Musyoka, repeating her success of 2007, although she failed to break the hour barrier as she did last year. Her time was 1 h 01'10''2.
The best-placed Swiss were Tarcis Ançay, the ninth fastest man, and Bernadette Meier, the fifth fastest woman.
A mini race for children was held in the streets of Fribourg on Saturday. To mark the 75th anniversary, 75 school classes were given free entries to take part.
The race, always run on the first Sunday of October, commemorates an event which occurred in 1476, when a messenger ran from the site of the battle of Murten to tell the citizens of Fribourg of the Swiss victory over Charles the Bold of Burgundy.
In 1933, when the race was first run, it attracted a mere 14 competitors. In 1985 a record number of 13,849 runners took part.
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