Philes Ongori emerged victorious in the women’s division of the Toronto Marathon held on Sunday, securing her second win in the event since relocating to Canada as an asylum seeker. Ongori, a Kenyan athlete, crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 36 seconds, maintaining a lead of 2 minutes and 44 seconds over Anna Carruthers from Creemore, Ontario. The third spot was claimed by Meghan Foottit from Nepean, Ontario, clocking in at 2:45:16.
In 2023, at the age of 39, Ongori and her husband arrived in Niagara Falls, Ontario, seeking refuge due to political persecution in Kenya. Notably, Ongori had previously achieved a silver medal at the 2009 world half-marathon championships and triumphed at the 2011 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:24:20.
On the men’s side, Austria’s Davide Zanetti clinched victory with a time of 2:25:08, with Rowan Shigeno from the United States following in second place with a time of 2:31:19, and Alex Hutton from Toronto securing the third position in 2:35:15.