Three marathoners DQ's, Ethiopia's Tereri ends Kenya's run of winners

MOLINE -- Kenya had dominated the 26.2-mile Men's Open Quad Cities Marathon in its first 18 years of its now 19-year history, winning 12 of those races. For the first time in nine years, a Kenyan did not win the event in Sunday's 19th running, sponsored by Triumph Community Bank.

Ethiopia's Fikadu Teferi crossed the finish line at 2:16.55 to win the event, followed closely by Hillary Too, of Kenya. Too finished at 2:17:01 after trailing Teferi by nearly 30 seconds after feeling some pain in his left thigh at the 10-mile marker.

"I picked up my pace and adjusted," said Too, who was competing at the QCM for the first time. "At 18 miles, I was pushing to win, and that's how I gained on him. The race was very good."

The last Ethiopian to win the QCM was Genna Tufa (2:18:28) in 2007. Teferi was delighted to bring home a victory for his country, but did not have much to say other than, "It's good."

Three elite runners -- Sammy Malakwen, of Kenya; Werkuneh Seyoum Aboye, of Ethiopia; and Stanley Boen, of Kenya -- were disqualified from the full marathon. Officials pulled them off the course after 20 miles, because they ran the course short somewhere in downtown Rock Island.

"They were on Arsenal Island well in advance of the other runners," said Elite race director Ian Frink. "They came off at 20 miles and were minutes ahead of the actual leaders, so we pulled them out of the course at that point."

The reason as to why the three runners did not run the full marathon course through Rock Island is unknown, said Frink, noting they either took a wrong turn or were directed incorrectly.

"We've heard different stories," Frink added. "We're discussing how to handle that. In the past we've paid some prize money to people that would've been in a certain place. We'll have to look at split times and determine where they were (going to be)."

This has happened at the QCM before, but it had been some time, as Frink noted. They were all running together, and were behind the leaders, and eventual winners. As a result, Ethiopia's Tewodros Zewdu, the official third-place finisher, finished at 2:28:50, just shy of 12 minutes back of the Top 2.

"It happens at other races too," Frink said. "It's the runners responsibility to know the course. That said, it's the race's (officials) responsibility is to keep them on course as best as possible. When you throw in the language barrier, and the separation, it makes it more difficult Read more here