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Who Is Sisay Lemma? Ethiopian Runner Breaks Valencia Marathon Record
Ethiopian runner Sisay Lemma broke the Valencia Marathon course record with 2:01:48.
Updated Dec 3, 2023 , 05:05 PM IST
Ethiopian runner Sisay Lemma broke the Valencia Marathon course record with 2:01:48.
Photo : Twitter
Ethiopian runner Sisay Lemma broke the Valencia Marathon course record with 2:01:48.
Who Is Sisay Lemma?
Sisay is a long-distance runner from Ethiopia. He started running at the age of 17 and is known to compete bare feet during his initial days due to the lack of running shoes.
Lemma triumphed in the 2023 Valencia Marathon on December 3rd, adding another major victory to his running career.
During the 42.195km race, the 2021 London Marathon champion surged ahead of Dawit Wolde of Ethiopia and Kenya's Kandiwott Kandie with 7km remaining.
Despite the trio maintaining a pace well within the world record at the 30km mark, Lemma finished in 2:01:48, missing Kelvin Kiptum's October Chicago mark by over a minute.
However, Lemma, soon turning 33, did manage to break Kiptum's course record from a year prior by five seconds.
Hillary Kipkoech's exceptional pacing aided Lemma, Wolde, and Kandie in forming a leading group after halfway. When Kipkoech withdrew at 30km, Wolde took the lead, but it was Lemma's strategic move that secured the win.
Alexander Mutiso clinched second place for Kenya in 2:03:11, while Wolde followed 37 seconds later, securing third.
Kenenisa Bekele, a three-time Olympic gold medalist on the track, opted not to match the front-runners' pace initially, a decision that proved wise.
At 41 years old, he surged past slower runners, including Kandie, finishing fourth and setting a new Masters world record of 2:04:19.
During his debut marathon, Joshua Cheptegei, the world record holder in the 5000m and 10,000m events, was unable to keep up after leading the first half of the race in 60:35.
Despite starting strong, Uganda's current 5000m Olympic champion struggled significantly in the latter part of the marathon, ultimately finishing in 37th place with a time of 2:08:59.
In the women's event, Ethiopia dominated the podium, securing a clean sweep with Worknesh Degefa claiming victory in 2:15:51, securing the seventh spot in the all-time list of fastest marathons.
Degefa managed to outpace Almaz Ayana, the 10,000m champion from Rio 2016, in the final stretch, finishing approximately 30 seconds ahead of her fellow Ethiopian.
Hiwot Gebrekidan secured third place, clocking just under 2:18, while the remaining competitors finished outside the 2:20 mark.
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