The Singapore heat did little to stop Russian Albina Mayorova-Ivanova from winning the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
More than 17,000 lined up for an early morning start to avoid the punishing humidity during the day. But despite that fact, the runners had to withstand 31C heat and almost 80 per cent humidity.
Mayorova-Ivanova, however, was above weather conditions. The Russian left her opponents in the dust, including compatriot and pre-race favorite Lyubov Morgunova, to win in style
Veteran Morgunova got off to a solid start, but fellow Russian Ivanova was able to overtake her at the two-hour mark.
And the 38-year-old was unable to catch up after that watching Ivanova finish some two minutes ahead of her in just under 2 hours 33 minutes.
Meanwhile, defending champion Luke Kibet of Kenya took the top honors in the men’s race, setting a new course record in the process.
The 2007 world marathon winner outran compatriots Johnstone Chepkwony and Vincent Krop, who came second and third respectively – another impressive 1-2-3 finish for Kenya.