Ethiopians sweep Macao Marathon

 MACAO, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's Heile Haja Gemeda and Ehitu Kiros Reda became the winners of Macao Galaxy¹ Entertainment International Marathon here on Sunday.

Gemeda sailed past the finish line in two hours 23 minutes and 56 seconds in chilly² drizzles³ to lift the men's title. Kenyan Duncan Cheruiyot Koech follwed at heel in 2:24:00.

Gemeda's compatriot Gezahegn Alemayehu Abebe was third in 2:24.11.

In the women's event, Ethiopia had a one-two finish as Reda set the winning pace in 2:50:11 before Tsega Gelaw Reta on 2:51.04.. Irene Kemunto Mogaka of Kenya took bronze 1:21 off the pace.

Each winner can bag 20,000 U.S. dollars of prize money.

Organizers also offer bouns to encourage good results. In addition to the winners' prize, the first three male athletes running within 2:16:00 and female⁴ runners, 2:35:00, will be given a bonus of 5,000 dollars each.

If participants can shave the 2011 record time by less than one minute, they will be rewarded with 10,000 dollars and the amount will rise to 15,000 if they can run more than one minute less than the record time.

There were over 6,000 people from 57 countries and regions⁵ participating in the Macao event which included marathon, half-marathon and mini marathon.

1 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

2 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

3 drizzles   

蒙蒙细雨，毛毛雨( drizzle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• "Grain lain" day-bringing gentle drizzles-was not far off. “谷雨”节一天近一天了。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕
• It drizzles sometimes, moistening the thirsty fields lightly and selflessly. 它大多是毛毛细雨，轻柔而又无私地滋润着干涸的大地。

4 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

5 regions   

n.地区( region的名词复数 )；[数学]区域；（艺术、科学等的）领域；行政区

参考例句：

• A flying doctor service operates in remote regions. 在偏远地区有飞行医生服务。
• More powers are gradually being devolved to the regions. 正逐步向地方下放更多的权力。 来自《简明英汉词典》