Kenya's Sylvester Teimet shatters course record to win Seoul Int'l Marathon

Sylvester Teimet of Kenya reacts as he crosses the finish line during the men's race of the 2010 Seoul International Marathon and the 81th Dong-A Marathon at Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, March 21, 2010. Teimet won the race in time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 49 seconds. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea - Sylvester Teimet ran a personal best time to break the course record and lead a Kenyan sweep of the podium at the Seoul International Marathon on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Teimet pulled ahead in the final seconds to win the 42.2-kilometre race in two hours, six minutes, 49 seconds. His time was three minutes, four seconds faster than his previous best of 2:09:53 and beat South African Gert Thys' 2004 course record of 2:07:06.

Gilbert Kipruto Kirwa was second with 2:06:59 and Paul Kiprop Kirui took third in 2:07:35.

Teimet earned US$125,000 in prize money, including $45,000 for setting a course record.

In the women's race, Amane Gobena from Ethiopia won with a time of 2:24:13, ahead of China's Chunxiu Zhou finished in 2:25:01. Caroline Cheptanui Kilel of Kenya was third with 2:26:58.

About 23,170 athletes and ordinary citizens took part in Sunday's marathon, according to the Korea Association of Athletics Federations.

A 62-year-old South Korean man collapsed and died while running the marathon, according to eMax21, a Seoul-based firm that handled public relations and marketing activities for race. The exact cause of his death was not immediately known.