Amsterdam Marathon 2014 Results: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

Bernard Kipyego and Betelhem Moges secured victories at the 2014 Amsterdam Marathon, winning the men’s and women’s races respectively.

The results were confirmed via the official Amsterdam Marathon Twitter account:

Kipyego finished in a personal best time of 2:06:20 to lead home a men’s race dominated by Kenyan athletes; he was joined on the podium by compatriots Lucas Rotich and John Mwangangi, who finished in second and third place respectively.

Here’s Kipyego crossing the line, courtesy of TCS News:

In the women’s race it was Moges who emerged as comfortable victor, and she was followed home by Kenya's Ogla Kimalyo in second place. Burundi's Diane Nukuri Johnson finished in third.

The Ethiopian Moges came home in a time of 2:28:35; here she is finishing the race, courtesy of TCS News:

Official results to follow

Ahead of the race, all eyes were on the man dubbed as “Mr. Amsterdam”, Wilson Chebet. The Kenyan had won this race the last three years, setting the course record with a time of 2:05:36 last time out. But Chebet insisted that given the hot conditions, it would be difficult to better than mark this year, per the-star.co.ke:

"

I prepared well and I am in good shape to make me compete well. My focus is to defend my title and I have my plan on how to do it.  

I am expecting to run well but the weather here is hot. It is not easy to run fast in such conditions but I will try my best.

"

Ermindo Armino/Associated Press

It was no surprise that Chebet was in the mix early on, and after 10 kilometres, the leading pack had already been whittled down to less than 20 athletes. The pace was relatively brisk, and the likes of Chebet, Kipyego and Abel Kirui appeared unwilling to give an inch in the early stages of the 26.2-mile distance.

Margriet Faber/Associated Press

Given the quick early pace, the athletes near the front began to drop off a lot earlier than in a typical marathon, but it was a big surprise to see Chebet—who had otherwise looked comfortable in the early stages—fall off the back of the group. As noted here by Katami Michelle, the three-time winner was struggling to go the pace:

Soon it became apparent that it wasn’t going to be the holder’s year this time round, and a five-strong leading pack of Kenyan runners motored away at the front. Kirui was the most experienced of these men, and he was looking in fine fettle. But suddenly he looked completely sapped, and he began to find the pace extremely tough going.

Steven Mills of worldrunning.com provided us with details on just how badly Kirui faltered:

There were no such problems for Kipyego though, as he sauntered to the front of the pack and began to build up a buffer at the front. As the racers passed the 40-kilometre mark, the leader had built up a substantial lead, as we can see courtesy of the official Amsterdam Marathon account:

Kipyego had no problems in the latter stages and went on to claim his first ever victory in a big city marathon. As he noted afterwards, it was a fine way to end the season:

In the women's race, it was Moges who emerged victorious, and her win never looked in doubt once she hit the front near the halfway mark. With the wind at their backs, the women also began at a very quick pace, with early indications suggesting that the quickest could get close to a mark of 2:25:00.

The excitement levels increased even further among the Dutch fans in attendance too, as it was Jacelyn Gruppen of the Netherlands who was leading the race at one point, still on course for a very quick time indeed, per the official Amsterdam Marathon account:

But as the race wore on, the classier athletes in the field began to establish themselves, and it was Moges who began to turn the screw alongside Guteni Shone at the front. Ultimately, Shone couldn't live with the Ethiopian, though, as Moges continued to increase the pace while looking eminently unflustered herself. 

Both Moges and Kipyego will naturally be delighted with their victories, but with a host of the world's very best athletes having competed in the Chicago Marathon last weekend, there were a few big names missing from the field here. The times were impressive in the hot conditions, but it will be intriguing to see just how the likes of Kipyego and Moges would fare against a field that's stacked with even more quality performers.