SINGAPORE - Kenyans swept the top placings at the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore on Sunday morning.

In the men's 42km event, Julius Kiplimo Masei won the title in 2hr 17min 26sec, a mere 6sec ahead of compatriot Chelimo Luka Kipkemoi.

Third was Barnaba Kibii (2:17:38).

The first 10 positions went to runners from the same country. But pre-race favourite Evans Cheruiyot was not among them.

In the women's field, Kenyans also swept the top three spots with Doris Changweyo claiming the crown in 2:44:26 - in her first-ever race attempt at the distance. The 30-year-old is a specialist in the 10,000m and cross-country running.

Peninah Arusei was second in 2:44:41.

Pre-race favourite Sharon Cherop, winner in 2013, had to settle for third place after a 2:44:53 effort.

Singapore's Neo Jie Shi was 10th overall in 3:15:06.

Mok Ying Ren topped the local men's field, coming home in an unofficial time of 2:43:04.

Singapore Athletics, which governs the sport in the country and also sanctions the annual event, introduced mandatory dope tests for all top-10 finishers in the elite categories this year. The move was announced on Friday morning, just hours ahead of the official pre-race press conference.

This year's event attracted nearly 50,000 runners from 111 nations. The other categories featured were the 21km, 10km and Kids' Dash.