Hailu's winning time of 2:09:27 was the second fastest time oif the race history and was only 47 short of the current course record.
After the finish Hailu was short in his commentaries: "I came here to win today," Exhausted Hailu told reporters.
Behind Hailu finished Kenyan's Barnabas Kiptum and Edwin Kemboi who posted 2:10:28 and 2:10:38 respectively.
In the women's marathon race, Rose Chepchumba of Kenya defeated compatriot Emily Rotich for the win. Winner Chepchumba clocked 2:33:52 while Rotish finished after 2:35:21. Abdi Tigisit of Ethiopia came in third with a time of 2:37:30.
The marathon race organizers announced that record number of 14,100 runners had completed the course.
Top Results Marathon des Alpes-Maritimes Nice-Cannes