Ethiopians dominate Kenyans in first marathons of 2024
7th January 2024
Douglas Chebii was the only Kenyan who registered a top 10 position in the just concluded Dubai Marathon
- Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema made a stunning debut over the classic distance to win the Dubai Marathon in 2:16:07.
- Ketema smashed the course record by more than a minute.
- The 25-year-old, who had previously been an 800m specialist and had never competed at any distance farther than 10km, now moves to eighth on the world all-time list.
Kenyan runners registered under par performances at the
first major marathons of 2024 as their East African rivals Ethiopia dominated.
Douglas Chebii was the only Kenyan who registered a top 10
position in the just concluded Dubai Marathon after stopping the clock at
2:08.15 to settle for a seventh-place position in the race that saw the
Ethiopians completing a clean podium sweep.
Addisu Gobena produced a breath-taking performance to win the race in a time of 2:05.01, 19 seconds ahead of compatriot Dumecha Lemi.
The third-place position went to Megersa Dejene, who clocked
2:05.42 with Fufa Abdi and German international Fitwi Samuel finishing fourth
and fifth respectively.
Samuel, who was one of the two runners in the top 10
positions without a connection with Ethiopia crossed the finishing line in
2:06.27, four seconds behind Abdi.
The Ethiopians also painted the Dubai Marathon women’s category in their flag colors, with nine of them finishing in the top 10 positions.
Tigist Ketema broke the tape in 2:16.07 ahead of fellow
countrywomen Aga Ruti and Dida Dera in the exciting race.
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Ruti, who has previously won the Houston Half Marathon,
clocked 2:18.09 while Dera crossed the finishing line in 2:19.29.
At the Chinese-based Xiamen Marathon, the story was the same
with Ethiopians winning both the women’s and men’s categories.
Assefa Boki Kebebe ran away with the men’s title in a
sensational fashion reaching the tape in a course record time of
02:06.46.
Kebebe was closely followed by Kenya’s Felix Kiptoo Kirwa
and Morocco’s Othmane El Goumri. Kirwa clocked 2:06.52 while Goumri came a
distant third in 2:07.18.
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The Kenyan duo of Philimon Kiplimo and Valencia Half
Marathon specialist Kibiwott Kandie did not finish the race due to unexplained
reasons.
In the women’s event, Bekelech Gudeta Borecha showed her
opponents dust to win the prestigious title in 02:22.54.
Borecha was closely followed by Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra
Gardadi (02:24.12) with home girl Zhang Deshun (02:26.53) completing the podium
place positions.
2024 Xiamen Marathon Top 3 results
Men
Asefa Boki Kebebe - Ethiopia - 2:06.46
Felix Kiptoo Kirwa - Kenya - 2:06.52
Othmane El Goumri - Morocco - 2:07.18
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Women
Bekelech Gudeta Borecha - Ethiopia - 2:22.54
Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi - Morocco - 02:24.12
Zhang Deshun - China Mainland - 02:26.53
2024 Dubai Marathon Top 3 Results
Men
Addisu Gobena - Ethiopia - 2:05.01
Dumecha Lemi - Ethiopia - 2:05.20
Megersa Dejene - Ethiopia - 2:05.42
Women
Tigist Ketema - Ethiopia - 2:16.07
Aga Ruti - Ethiopia - 2:18.09
Dida Dera - Ethiopia - 2:19.29