Rose Chelimo of Bahrain won the women’s marathon of the 18^th Asian Games in Jakarta on Sunday with a time of two hours 34 minutes and 51 seconds.

Keiko Nogami of Japan trailed in second place for the silver medal after clocking 2:36:27, while Kim Hye-song of North Korea was third with 2:37:20.

Host Indonesia did not field any runners in this marathon discipline, which saw 18 runners in competition.

Mariia Korobitskaia of Kyrgyzstan and Gong Lihua of China did not finish the race.

Chelimo led the pack since the starting line with both Nogami and Kim tightly trailing until the 35^th kilometer, where they started to lose pace. 

Chelimo became the first athlete representing Bahrain to win a gold medal in the World Championships marathon in 2017 in London by clocking 2:27:11.

Previously a Kenyan citizen, she acquired Bahraini citizenship in 2015 and was cleared by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to represent her new country in 2016.

The full marathon event kicked off at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta at 6 a.m. with a turning point near the National Archives in West Jakarta and ending at the stadium. (yan)