Lydiard advocate

The 2025 Paris Marathon—in cool spring conditions—on Sunday, saw Kenyan Benard Biwott drop his kick late to take the win in a personal best of time of 2:05:25. Ethiopia’s Bedatu Hirpa clipped training partner Dera Dida in a dramatic sprint finish to take the women’s title in 2:20:45. The top 10 men and top 10 women were all African. Six of the first 10 men across the line are from Kenya, while five of the first women were from Ethiopia. The 22-year-old Biwott took 29 seconds off his personal best.

After building the athlete agency Global Sports Communication (GSC) for over 40 years, founder Jos Hermens has turned to his team. Hermens welcomes his current leadership team, consisting of Valentijn Trouw (Performance Director), Ellen van Langen (Event Director), and Marleen Vink-Rennings (Marketing Director), as company partners. GSC is the agency of record for such athletes as Eliud Kipchoge, Sifan Hassan, Letesenbet Gidey, Joshua Cheptegei and Haile Gebrselassie, to name a few.

Kenyan Emmanuel Kipchumba Kemboi submitted a urine sample at the 2024 Lisbon Marathon in October. On December 17, 2024, the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) accredited laboratory in Lisbon, Portugal reported an Adverse Analytical Finding in the Sample based on the presence of Triamcinolone acetonide. On April 2, 2025, the 28-year-old admitted fault and had his four-year ban shortened to two years. Triamcinolone acetonide is a synthetic corticosteroid used to treat various inflammatory conditions.