The 2025 Taiyuan Marathon starts from Wuyi Square. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

The 2025 Taiyuan Marathon started with a gunshot at Wuyi Square in Taiyuan, capital of North China's Shanxi province, on Sept 21, with 40,000 runners from 33 countries and regions participating in the competition.

As a World Athletics Gold Label event and a Chinese Athletics Association A1 event, the Taiyuan Marathon's high standards and adept organization attracted many elite athletes. After fierce competition, Douglas Kimeli Kiptoo from Kenya won the men's marathon with a time of 2:09:14; Kobe Bush Isma Zvodemariam from Ethiopia won the women's race with a time of 2:25:50.

Chinese athlete Li Bo won the Chinese men's marathon with a time of 2:12:04; Huang Xuemei won the Chinese women's marathon with a time of 2:34:22. In the half marathon, the top three male and female athletes were all from China.

This year, the Taiyuan Marathon for the first time awarded "Sub-3" medals to marathon participants whose net time was less than three hours. A total of 1,094 athletes who ran the marathon earned this honor.

The Taiyuan Marathon optimized its track again this year, moving the starting point to Wuyi Square to make it easier for contestants to gather. The marathon route optimized the Xiangyun Bridge section and the U-turn before the finish line, with gentler slopes and more beautiful scenery to help athletes compete.