Kenyan athletes' stranglehold on the Pune International Marathon was broken on Sunday by 32-year-old Swedish runner Said Regragoui, who won the grueling race with a timing of 2 hours 18 minutes and 23 seconds.

The victory made him richer by Rs 300,000.

Participating for the first time in India, Regragoui said he was able to endure the hot and humid climate as he had run in similar conditions in Morocco earlier.

"My best timing is 2:14:52 in an international event in Italy. Comparatively, today's timing is on a slower side, but it was good enough to win the Pune International Marathon," he said, adding he is not yet sure about taking part in the Standard Chartered International Marathon, to be held in January, in Mumbai.

Josphat Ngila Ndeti of Kenya, who won the race in 2005, finished fourth with a timing of 2:20:48.

Though the Kenyan men were not able to repeat their earlier performances in the marathon, their women claimed the first three places in the women's half marathon.

Hellen Nzembi Musyoka finished the 21.98 km distance in 1:13:20 to emerge winner. She bagged the prize of Rs 150,000.

The total prize-money for different categories was Rs 20 lakh this year compared to last year's Rs 15.