Gharib retains marathon title

Jaouad Gharib comfortably retained his World Championships marathon title after racing home in a time of two hours 10 minutes and 11 seconds in Helsinki.

The 33-year-old Moroccan broke away from his rivals just before the 30-kilometre mark and barely looked out of breath as he crossed the finishing line well ahead of runner-up Christopher Isegwe of Tanzania.

Japan’s Tsuyoshi Ogata claimed the bronze after pipping the tiring Samson Ramadhani in the final three kilometres.