Kenya’s Cyprian Kotut claimed a double in the French capital within a month when he won this year’s Paris Marathon in personal best of 2 hours, 07 minutes and 13 seconds. Kotut, the brother to three-time London Marathon champion Martin Lel, overtook Ethiopian Abraha Gebretsadik with three kilometres to go, pumping his pistons past the 40 km mark in 2:00:34 to victory.

Kotut became the 12th Kenya to win the race and put his case straight ahead of the national marathon team selection for Rio Olympic Games later this month after London Marathon on April 24.

In the women’s race, Kenya’s Visiline Jepkesho atoned for her last year’s third place finish to win this year’s Paris Marathon in 2 hours 25 minutes and 57 seconds.

Jepkesho, the 2014 Lisbon Marathon winner in 2:26:47, who finished third at the French capital last year in personal best 2:24:44, broke away from Ethiopian Gulume Tollesa with seven kilometres to go and never looked back for her maiden major.

The 27-year-old, Kenya Prisons constable, who finished a distant 20th at the World Championships in Beijing last year before failing to finish in Nagoya last month, edged put Tollesa to second in 2:26:14.