The Swiss athlete of Eritrean origin Abraham Tadesse broke the Zurich Barcelona Marathon record this Sunday, with a time of 2h.05:01, and the Ethiopian Degitu Azimeraw, winner in the women’s category (2h.19:52), was just behind. eight seconds off the race record.
Tadesse, 41 years old and who also surpassed his personal best (2:05:10, Berlin 2023), broke the race with a change of pace after kilometer 30 and surpassed the record set last year by Bahrain’s Marius Kimutai ( 2h.05:06). The Kenyans Collins Kipkurui Kipkorir (2h.06:44) and Edmond Kipngetich (2h.07:21) accompanied him on the podium.
In the women’s category, Azimeraw escaped alone after kilometer 25, but was just short of the Barcelona marathon record, which will continue to be held by her compatriot Zeineba Yimer Worku (2h.19:44). Shuko Genemo (2h.21:35) and Meseret Dinke (2h.22:58) completed a completely Ethiopian podium.
With the city record as their goal, the male elite stood out in the lead from the start and reached the fifth kilometer (14:45) with a group of ten competitors, which was reduced to six in the tenth kilometer (29:29 ).
The Ethiopian Adebe Negewo -the favorite theoretical-, the Kenyans Edmond Kipngetich, Collins Kipkurui Kipkorir, Geoffrey Koech, the Swiss Abraham Tadesse and the Eritrean Berhane Tesfay reached the halfway point of the race in 1h.02:46, a projection that seemed insufficient for beat the test record (2h.05:06).
The group was reduced to Tadesse, Kipkurui and Kipngetich at kilometer 25 (1h:14.07), a triad that lasted until kilometer 30 (1h.28.54), when the hare abandoned the race.
Tadesse then increased the pace to open a 16-second margin on Kipngetich at kilometer 35 and escape shortly after Kipkurui. Launched alone, the Swiss sprinted to cross the finish line with a time of 2h.05:01, thus establishing a new personal and Zurich Marathon Barcelona record.
“I want to dedicate this victory to Kiptum. When I escaped and ran I only thought about him. He has been an inspiration for all of us,” explained the runner at the finish line. “I was here last year and I ended up a little disappointed, because I got a little sick three days before the race and I didn’t run well, I finished sixth. This year I prepared a lot for the race, I eliminated all the mistakes from last year and I was ready to go faster,” summarized the winner in statements to TV3.
In the women’s category, the elite reached the 5th kilometer (16:34) with seven runners, a group that was reduced to six in the 10th kilometer (33:00) and four in the 15th (49:36).
The Ethiopians Meseret Dinke, Degitu Azimeraw, Shuko Genemo and Zinas Gerado Senbeta crossed the halfway point of the race with a time of 1h.09:51, at a record pace (2h.19:44).
After kilometer 25 (1h.22:44), Dinke tried an attack that the favorite Azimeraw not only neutralized, but also took advantage of to catapult herself and break the race, crossing kilometer 30 in the lead (1:38.59) with 7 seconds of time. margin on Meset, 13 on Genemo and 32 on Gerado Senbeta.
With the only company of the hare, Azimeraw crossed the finish line with a time of 2h.19:52, insufficient to beat the record of the Zurich Barcelona Marathon, which in this edition brought together a total of 20,000 runners in the streets of the Catalan capital, the third best participation figure in its history.
