Helah Kiprop fought back from a slow start to win the Paris marathon on Sunday.
The 2016 Tokyo Marathon champion clocked 2:23:19 to complete a remarkable comeback after lagging behind in the opening 25km.
She was lagging a minute behind the leading pack at one point before summoning her energies to catch up with them.
Kiprop outsprinted Ethiopian Atalel Anmut in a photo finish with both athletes given identical times.
Ethiopian Fikirte Wereta rounded off the podium positions in 2:23 22 with compatriot Yeshi Chekole in fourth in 2:23:29.
Winfrdah Moseti finished fifth in 2:23:38, Linet Masai was sixth in 2:24:49 and Judith Jerubet seventh in 2:25:54.
Kiprop was delighted with the win, especially after a torrid start.
“I did not start well. The conditions were good but I dropped after the first 10km. I had to encourage and pace myself to catch up with the leading pack,” noted Kiprop
“From there, I was able to pace myself and my finishing kick in the final kilometre is what gave me the win,” noted Kiprop.
In the men's category, Ethiopia's Abeje Ayana won the race in his first competitive run over the distance.
The 20-year-old Ayana won with a time of two hours, seven minutes and 15 seconds, 20 seconds ahead of compatriot and pre-race favourite Guye Adola with Kenya's Josphat Boit a further five seconds back in third.
After clocking 59:39 in a half marathon in Poznan, Poland in 2021, Ayana was one of the men to watch on a grey, windy morning in the French capital.
Elsewhere Sebastian Sawe clocked 59:01 to lead a Kenyan podium sweep at the Berlin Half Marathon on Sunday morning.
Fellow Kenyans Alex Kibet and Bravin Kiprop timed 59:12 and 59:22 to finish second and third respectively on a chilly morning in the German capital.
Sawe, who was competing in his first-ever international competition following February’s World Cross Country Championships, was excited at notching his first podium finish in 2023.