ADDIS ABEBA – The successive victories of Ethiopian athletes in different parts of the world has sustained. The latest in this parade is the victory of the Ethiopian wonder athlete Worknesh Degefa in the women’s Boston Marathon at a time of 2 hours 23 minutes and 30 seconds last week Monday.
Reports from the spot confirm that she ran a blistering early pace and then held off a chasing Edna Kiplagat of Kenya to win the race in her fourth marathon.
The 28-year-old, who holds the Ethiopian national record with a 2:17:41, entered the race having only run the relatively flat Dubai Marathon three times.
Worknesh handled the course’s rigorous Newton Hills well enough to survive thanks to the sizeable lead she built over the elite pack early on.
Kiplagat came in second clocking 2:24:14, with American Jordan Hasay (2:25:20) finishing in third place, same as in 2017. Defending champion Des Linden, came in fifth with an unofficial time of 2:27:00.
In the men’s event, Lawrence Cherono of Kenya won the 2019 Boston Marathon in his debut, with a time of 2:07:59 on a day that started
off with rainy conditions similar to last year but eventually turned humid as the race went on.
Two-time winner Lelisa Desisa clocking 2:08:00 and Kenneth Kipkemoi (2:08:06) finished second and third, in the order of that. Cherono used a last-second kick to edge Lelisa — making for the closest finish to the tape since 1988.
The Boston Marathon was first held in 1897. This year marked the 123rd edition of the 42.kilo meters and 195m event.
A week earlier the Ethiopian women’s and men’s athletes had full domination at the 43rd edition of the Paris Marathon. In the women’s event the Ethiopians enjoyed sweeping victory by occupying from one up to three places in a row. Gelete Burka came out first at a time of 2 hours 22 minutes and 47 seconds leaving behind her compatriots Azmera Gebru clocking 2: 22. 52 and Azmera Abrha at 2: 23. 35 to take the second and third places, in the order of that.
In the men’s event Abrha Milaw at 2 hours 07 minutes and 05 seconds won the first place while the other Ethiopian Assefa Mengistu came in second clocking 2: 07. 25. The third place was won by the Kenyan Paul Lonyanpata at a time of 2: 07. 29.
As the commentator reported from the spot the podium was crowded by the victorious Ethiopian athletes.
A couple of weeks earlier, the Ethiopian men’s and women’s athletics team emerged first at the 43rd World Cross Country Championship that took place at Aarhus, Denmark.
With a tally of five gold medals, three silver and three bronze medals the Ethiopian team emerged first leaving behind neighboring Kenya on 2 gold, three silver and three bronze medals and Uganda with 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals to take the second and third places, in the order of that.
This shows that first at Aarhus, Denmark, then in Paris and finally in Boston the Ethiopian athletes won full domination in the space of three weeks.
These are all pre-World Athletics Championship that will be staged in Doha the coming August. If past results are any guide, Ethiopians are likely to dominate at the prestigious World event in three months time.
Herald April 23/2019
BY SOLOMON BEKELE
