Cheroben, a Bahraini competitor, finished the 21-kilometre race in 1:00.20 hours, ahead of Kenyan Antony Kimutai Chebii (who finished in 1:00.30) and Ethiopian Adane Ayele (who finished in 1:00.40), who took third place in the Portuguese capital.

Rui Pinto was the fastest Portuguese over that distance, and finished in sixth place at 1:04.22 hours.

Ethiopian Tirusew completed the 21 km in the women's event in 1:08.40 and all by herself. Two more Ethiopians took the final two spots on the podium: Senayet Chekol and Aynadis Tadesse, both of whom finished in second and third, respectively, with times of 1:09.03 and 1:09.37.

Susana Godinho, who finished in fourth place with a time of 1:13.12 hours, was the fastest Portuguese female competitor.

With 10,500 registered participants, the Lisbon half marathon began an hour and a half earlier than scheduled, at 09:00, due to the expected heat in the Portuguese capital. It began at Ponte Vasco da Gama and concluded at Praça do Comércio.

Author

A passionate Irish journalist with a love for cycling, politics and of course Portugal especially their sausage rolls.

Rory Mc Ginn