There have been quite a lot of shock strikes at Sunday’s Tartan Ottawa Worldwide Marathon on each the boys’s and girls’s sides, leading to podiums that have been completely different from what was predicted early within the race. After showing to be struggling earlier within the race, Ethiopia’s Yihunilign Adane, who additionally received the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon final October, as soon as once more made an identical transfer across the 35K mark, surging for the win in 2:08:22.
An Ethiopian sweep on the @OttawaRaceWknd marathon! 🇪🇹👀
1-2-3🏆#runottawa2023
📸: @marleydickinson pic.twitter.com/7r7qvoIJw1
— Canadian Working (@CanadianRunning) Might 28, 2023
Adane’s compatriot, Gebrestsadik Abraha, in his fourth Canadian race, completed second, in 2:09:13; Abraha ran a PB of two:06:08 in Dubai in February and is a former U20 world championships silver medallist within the 10,000m (from 2010). Abdi Ali Gelchu, additionally of Ethiopia, completed third on Sunday, in 2:10:38, after ending second final 12 months on his first journey to race in Canada.
After main for a lot of the primary half of the race, the one Kenyan within the area, Felix Kibitok, a half-marathon specialist, light to sixth because the temperatures rose in Ottawa. Lee Wesselius was the primary Canadian to cross the end line, in 14th place (2:18:26).
Lee Wesselius is the highest 🇨🇦 on the 2023 Ottawa Worldwide Marathon ⭐️
2:18:27 👑#runottawa2023 pic.twitter.com/HRdZeknpeW
— Canadian Working (@CanadianRunning) Might 28, 2023
The circumstances on the 7:00 a.m. begin have been a cool 15 C however the temperatures warmed as much as 23 C after the midway level. Adane’s time was a couple of minutes shy of the occasion file of two:06:04, set final 12 months by his compatriot Andualem Shiferaw.
The ladies’s race
The main pack of three Ethiopian girls, together with Melat Kejeta, Waganesh Mekasha and Aberu Ayana Mulisa, paced by Canadian marathon file holder Cam Levins and adopted by Canada’s Malindi Elmore, who was in search of the Olympic customary of two:26:50, dwindled to 2 comparatively early within the race, Kejeta and Mekasha working collectively till 23km. Then Mekasha, who completed fifth on the Chicago Marathon final 12 months, threw in an early surge, dropping Kejeta. Mekasha was on tempo for an occasion file (2:22:17, set by Gelete Burka in 2018), and regardless of slowing significantly within the remaining 12 km, she held on for the win, breaking the tape in 2:24:47.
Elmore, in the meantime, was slowly choosing off opponents, and wound up with a wonderful second-place end, in 2:27:45–somewhat off her time purpose, however a serious accomplishment and a pleasant shock for the Canadian crowd. (Elmore set the Canadian file on the Houston Marathon in 2020 at 2:24:50; it has since been lowered by Natasha Wodak, Saturday’s Canadian 10K champion, who ran 2:23:12 in Berlin final 12 months.)
Extra protection is to return from Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.
