Dereje Debele Tulu claimed victory in the 2016 Dublin City Marathon as Ethiopian runners dominated the race.
Tulu headed an Ethiopian 1-2-3 finish, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:12:08, ahead of compatriots Dereje Urgecha Beyecha and Asefa Legese Bekele who were second and third respectively.
Sergiu Ciobanu, who was controversially overlooked for the Irish Olympic team in favour of Paul Pollock despite a faster qualifying time this summer, was the first Irish athlete home, finishing in seventh place in a time of 2:17:39.
GALLERY: VIEW IMAGES FROM THE RACE
Sean Hehir was one place behind Ciobanu in eighth in a time of 2:18:45, while Gary O'Hanlon finished 12th and David Mansield was 15th, ensuring that Ireland was well represented in the top 15.
Helalia Johannes of Namibia took the gold medal in the women's race with a late surge to overhaul Ethiopia's Ehite Gebireyes and finish in a time of 2:32:32, just one second ahead of Gebireyes in a thrilling finish.
Up to 19,500 runners take part in the Dublin Marathon pic.twitter.com/h5bgyZpC7R
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 30, 2016
Gebireyes, who had led in the closing stages of the race, had to settle for second while Kenya's Violet Jelagat took the bronze medal.
Laura Graham from Newry was fastest of the Irish women, finishing in 10th place in a time of 2:41:53, while Lettterkenny's Caitriona Jennings was one place back in 11th as she finished in 2:44:59.
Ireland's Patrick Monahan was the first to cross the finishing line as he won the men's wheelchair race.
The Kildare man crossed the finishing line in a time of 1:39:18, defending the title he won last year.
Just over 19,500 people are understood to have taken part in the event, the 37th running of the race.
What a finish in the ladies race!! Congrats to Helalia Johannes on coming in 1st place in 2:32:31 with Gebireyes just 1 second behind her 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/UD7Oj1rqjy
— Dublin Marathon (@dublinmarathon) October 30, 2016
