Selemon Barega on his way to Seville Marathon victory (© Organisers)
Selemon Barega and Anchinalu Dessie secured an Ethiopian double at the Zurich Maraton de Sevilla, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, on Sunday (23).
Both athletes were racing the distance for the first time and on a perfect weather day the Tokyo Olympic 10,000m champion Barega ran 2:05:15, while 22-year-old Dessie clocked 2:22:17.
A men’s race pace of 2:54 per kilometre had been agreed at the technical meeting on the eve of the competition, with Barega seeking a sub-2:03 final time. Paced by Kenya’s Dennis Kitiyo, Vincent Kimaiyo and Esphond Cheruiyot, the lead group went through the opening 5km in a brisk 14:18, 12 seconds faster than scheduled. The rhythm remained fast over the following kilometres as the front pack reached the 10km mark in 28:44. By then, Barega travelled in the company of his fellow Ethiopians Challa Gossa and Abebaw Desalew plus Kenya’s Mathew Samperu.
The cadence slowed slightly and the quartet timed 1:01:45 at the halfway point, but they remained in with a chance of breaking the course record of 2:03:27 set last year. The three pacemakers dropped out of the race by the 24th kilometre and shortly afterwards the 25-year-old Barega became a lonesome leader. He didn’t pick up his 2:55 speed, but his rivals could not live with that kind of pace.
The 2022 world indoor 3000m champion Barega continued to tick off the kilometres at a steady pace and built a solid margin over his chasers by the 30km point, which he reached in 1:27:26 to Gossa and Samperu’s 1:27:58. Over the next section, a tired Gossa and Samperu began to falter and Barega extended his lead to 1:58 by the 35km checkpoint.
Barega, holder of a 57:50 career best in the half marathon, projected a final time of 2:03:30 until the 37th kilometre, but the Ethiopian star was unable to maintain that speed.
Although he slowed, his win was never in doubt, and he reached the finish line well clear to clock 2:05:15 on his debut.
An exhausted Gossa and Samperu were overtaken by a large group that had reached the half marathon in 1:03:10, and they lost any chance of a podium place. It was the unheralded Ethiopian Tafere Adisu who came through for the runner-up spot in 2:06:27 to improve his PB by almost three minutes, while Morocco’s Mohamed Reda El Aaraby completed the podium in a lifetime best of 2:06:45. Next was Switzerland’s Matthias Kyburz who achieved a 2:06:48 performance for fourth.
“I knew there were great expectations on my debut but I’m happy with my performance,” said Barega. “Seville is a great city to run fast but today I have known ‘the wall’ of the marathon at the 35km point and I suffered a lot. Anyway, I’ll be back with more experience.”
Perfectly paced throughout by Spain’s Jose Ignacio Gimemez, the women's contest opened at a steady 3:21 rhythm. The leading group comprised Ethiopian debutants Dessie and Tigist Gezahagn, Bahrain’s Dalila Abdulkadir and Morocco’s Kaoutar Boulaid, and they covered the first half in 1:10:56, while France’s Manon Trapp and Kenya’s Cynthia Kosgei travelled more than a minute in arrears, clocking 1:12:00.
Anchinalu Dessie wins the Seville Marathon (© Organisers)
The lead pack then timed 1:41:06 by the 30km point, with Kosgei 52 seconds behind but three seconds clear of Trapp, who was targeting a national record. It was Abdulkadir who first withdrew from the lead group, which whittled down to the pair of Dessie and Gezahagn by the 34th kilometre as Boulaid also lost ground.
The key move came by the 37th kilometre when Gezahagn clearly reduced her speed to lose any chance of winning, while Boulaid was caught by Kosgei and Trapp. By 40km Dessie looked well on her way to victory as she had built a 1:12 advantage over her compatriot Gezahagn, herself still 13 seconds ahead of Trapp and Kosgei.
Debutant Dessie crossed the finish line in 2:22:17 to win, while Trapp dropped Kosgei inside the last kilometre to take second place in a French record of 2:23:38 to the Kenyan’s 2:23:43. A faltering Gezahagn was also passed by Boulaid, who finished fourth in a lifetime best of 2:24:05 to the Ethiopian’s 2:24:25.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
Leading results
Women
1 Anchinalu Dessie (ETH) 2:22:17
2 Manon Trapp (FRA) 2:23:38
3 Cynthia Kosgei (KEN) 2:23:43
4 Kaoutar Boulaid (MAR) 2:24:05
5 Tigist Gezahagn (ETH) 2:24:25
6 Kaoutar Farkoussi (MAR) 2:25:20
7 Meritxell Soler (ESP) 2:26:05
8 Melody Julien (FRA) 2:26:44
9 Dalila Abdulkadir (BRN) 2:27:00
10 Sheyla Eulogio Paucar (PER) 2:27:52
Men
1 Selemon Barega (ETH) 2:05:15
2 Tafere Adisu (ETH) 2:06:27
3 Mohamed Reda El Aaraby (MAR) 2:06:45
4 Matthias Kyburz (SUI) 2:06:48
5 Shumi Dechasa (BRN) 2:06:56
6 El Mahjoub Dazza (MAR) 2:06:58
7 Belay Tilahun Bezabeh (ETH) 2:06:58
8 Felix Bour (FRA) 2:07:03
9 Koen Naert (BEL) 2:07:18
10 Mathew Samperu (KEN) 2:07:25
