Megertu Alemu takes girls’s victory in 2:16:49 on a day that sees a spate of nationwide data and PBs simply weeks after town was hit with disastrous floods
Till now, Sabastian Sawe has excelled within the half-marathon with a finest time of 58:05 and a world title in 2023.
Nice half-marathon performances don’t all the time translate right into a top-class marathon, however Sawe confirmed in Valencia on Sunday (Dec 1) that he can positively go the gap.
The 28-year-old Kenyan surged away from his rivals within the closing kilometres to run 2:02:05 on his debut at 26.2 miles. Runner-up Deresa Geleta of Ethiopia clocked 2:02:38 with Daniel Mateiko of Kenya, who was additionally in his marathon debut, ending a drained third in 2:04:23.
The efficiency locations Sawe No.5 on the world all-time rankings and is the quickest time of 2024. After the race, he praised the organisers for getting the race again on observe following the catastrophic torrential rain and flooding in late October, which led to greater than 200 deaths and billions of {dollars} of injury.
“It’s a tremendous day, I’m so comfortable to be right here and win in Valencia which is so stunning,” stated Sawe. “It’s my debut and I’m actually comfortable to win. On the primary a part of course I noticed the way it was going, then within the second half I attempted to push myself.”
Megertu Alemu of Ethiopia gained the ladies’s race in 2:16:49. Such are the spate of quick occasions within the super-shoes period, nonetheless, she stated she was dissatisfied she didn’t go even sooner. Behind, runner-up Stella Chesang clocked a Ugandan file of two:18:26 with Tiruye Mesfin of Ethiopia third in 2:18:35
Megertu Alemu (Valencia Marathon)
Alice Wright was high British girl in a PB of two:28:48 with Dan Nash the main British man house in a PB of two:13:02. The race as soon as once more featured a flurry of unimaginable occasions, with 10 males inside 2:05 and the highest 30 working sub-2:10 whereas 14 girls had been inside 2:25.
Nationwide data included Tadesse Abraham of Switzerland, working his ultimate marathon aged 42, with 2:04:40, Maru Teferi of Israel with 2:04:45 and Samwel Fitwi of Germany working 2:04:56 simply forward of one of many pre-race favourites, Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia.
Yohannes Chiappinelli clocked an Italian file of two:05:24. Richard Ringer, the 2022 European champion from Germany, improved his finest to 2:05:47. Ed Cheserek, the US-based Kenyan and sub-3:50 miler, took a number of minutes off his finest with 2:05:24.
Valencia Marathon (Getty)
Australian athletes had been in kind, too, with Andy Buchanan working a nationwide file of two:06:22 – the primary Australian to interrupt the two:07 barrier – whereas Isobel Batt-Doyle excelled within the girls’s race with 2:22:59 for eighth place.
A few months after turning 40, Fionnuala McCormack of Eire ran a PB of two:23:46 in 11th. Simply forward, Moira Stewartova ran a Czech file of two:23:44 and Sara Corridor of america, 41, ran 2:23:45.
Prime Spanish girl, Majida Maayouf, was solely 26 seconds outdoors her personal Spanish file with 2:21:43.
Additional British outcomes included Molly Smith with 2:31:46, Becky Briggs 2:32:43, Clara Evans 2:33:16 and Verity Hopkins 2:34:20, whereas within the males’s race there have been PBs for Chris Perry with 2:15:00, Daniel Hamilton 2:15:03, Ronnie Richmond 2:15:07 and David Bishop with 2:15:19.
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