Kenyan Biwott wins men's Paris Marathon, Ethiopian Hirpa takes women's race

PARIS (AP) — Kenyan Benard Biwott and Ethiopian Bedatu Hirpa won the men's and women's Paris Marathon on Sunday.

Biwott won the race on his debut and clocked 2 hours, 5 minutes and 25 seconds, eight seconds faster than last year's winner Mulugeta Uma.

He dropped his rivals with about 10 kilometers (6 miles) to go and placed 48 seconds clear of Ibrahim Hassan of Djibouti and 56 seconds clear of countryman Sila Kiptoo.

Hirpa's race was far closer as she overtook countrywoman Dera Dida in the final meters on Avenue Foch, and beat her by just four seconds.

Hirpa finished with a winning time of 2:20.45, while Kenyan Angela Tanui finished third in 2:21:07.

Both winners clinched their second marathon victory, with Biwott winning in Frankfurt last year and Hirpa winning in Dubai earlier this year.

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From left, second-placed Dera Dida of Ethiopia, winner Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia and third-placed Angela Tanui of Kenya pose on the podium of the Paris marathon, in Paris, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

From left, second-placed Dera Dida of Ethiopia, winner Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia and third-placed Angela Tanui of Kenya pose on the podium of the Paris marathon, in Paris, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

From left, second-placed Ibrahim Hassan of Djibouti, winner Benard Biwott of Kenya and third-placed Sila Kiptoo of Kenya pose on the podium of the Paris marathon, in Paris, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia crosses the finish line to win the women's race of the Paris marathon, in Paris, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia crosses the finish line to win the women's race of the Paris marathon, in Paris, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Benard Biwott of Kenya crosses the finish line to win the men's race of the Paris marathon, in Paris, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Days after a deadly shooting on their campus, Florida State University students who also survived a mass shooting in Parkland in 2018 sent a letter Monday to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis demanding he squash efforts to lower the firearm purchase age back to 18 years old.

The law that raised the minimum gun purchase age to 21 was passed as part of a gun reform package following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which was one of the deadliest shootings in the country. For these former Parkland and current FSU students who sent the letter to the governor, this is their second school shooting.

One of the founders for March For Our Lives, a group formed following the shooting in Parkland, led a group of 28 students in writing the letter, calling it “unthinkable” and “dangerous” for the Legislature to consider changing the gun purchase age to 18. Jaclyn Corin said many of the students who demanded action in 2018 after the Parkland shooting are now FSU students who experienced tragedy again.

“There is no doubt that that law has saved lives over the past seven years, and so now it’s quite ironic that this is the very law that is being threatened in the aftermath of what is many of those same students who rose their voices, their second school shooting,” Corin said.

DeSantis and Republican lawmakers have backed the measure, saying that if a person is old enough to be in the military, they should be able to purchase a gun.

Despite having support from Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, Senate President Ben Albritton has been more hesitant about the measure. In a conference with reporters in March, Albritton got emotional recounting his visit to the Parkland high school building where 17 people were killed. He said he is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, but that he has not made a decision on the measure.

Thursday's shooting at a university minutes away from the Florida Capitol may leave an uncertain future for the measure, since it has not yet been heard in the state Senate. The legislative session is scheduled to end next week.

“Rolling it back would dishonor the lives we lost in Parkland and Tallahassee, and amount to a slap in the face to survivors and to the countless lives that law has helped protect,” the letter sent Monday read. “It ignores the trauma we carry. And it sends a clear message to students: the state of Florida sees our lives as expendable.”

The shooter in Parkland was a 19-year-old. He is now serving life in prison.

On Thursday, a 20-year-old FSU student opened fire near the student union, using his deputy sheriff stepparent’s former service weapon. Two people were killed and six injured.

FILE - People attend a candlelight vigil for the victims of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron De Santis speaks during a press conference on immigration enforcement, at Homestead Air Force Base, Feb. 26, 2025, in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

FILE - People comfort each other as they sit and mourn at one of seventeen crosses, Feb. 15, 2018, after a candlelight vigil for the victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)