BEIRUT: The ninth BLOM Beirut Marathon saw its men’s and women’s 42 kilometer records smashed Sunday with one of the finest results years since its inception in 2003.

The “bronze level” status acquired after the 2010 Beirut Marathon meant that gold and silver level elite athletes could be invited to the race this year.

Two such were Tariku Jufar and Seada Kedir, both of Ethiopia, who broke the men’s and women’s Beirut Marathon records with times of 2:11:14 and 2:31:38 respectively.

Buoyed on by a small boisterous crowd of Ethopians at the finish line, Jufar broke compatriot Mohammad Tamam’s 2:16:12 record set in 2009 while Kedir smashed Anastasia Ndereba’s 2:36:46 set in 2004.

Lebanese Paralympics bronze medalist Edward Maalouf coasted home in the special needs category with a time of 1:25:05 to win the men’s section while Kerstin Abel of Germany collected the women’s gold with a time of 2:04:50.