Sabastian Sawe wins the Valencia Marathon (© Organisers)
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe set a world lead on his marathon debut, while Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu also captured a solid victory at the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso – a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label event – on Sunday (1).
Sawe’s winning time was 2:02:05, just 12 seconds off the fastest ever debut set by his compatriot Kelvin Kiptum two years ago and a mark that moves him to fifth on the world all-time list, while Alemu ran 2:16:49, just 15 seconds outside her lifetime best.
The men’s event had been billed as a thrilling showdown between experienced specialists such as Sisay Lemma, Deresa Geleta and Kenenisa Bekele, versus some promising debutants including Sawe and Hillary Kipkoech. Perfectly paced by a trio of pacemakers – Kenya’s Samwel Mailu, Erick Sang and Vincent Nyageo – the leading men went through the opening 5km in 14:31. That cadence was maintained until the leading pack reached the 10km checkpoint in 29:04 and 15km in 43:39. By then, nine athletes remained at the helm including all the favourites, Geleta and Lemma running closest to the pacemakers.
The halfway mark was passed in 1:01:17, 42 seconds slower than last year’s split when Lemma set the course record of 2:01:48. Unlike last year, when he performed conservatively over the first half, Bekele was running quite bravely as the 42-year-old travelled in third or fourth place. But some two kilometres later, the multiple Olympic and world champion began to lose ground and by the 28th kilometre the relentless 2:55/km rhythm whittled down the leading pack to five: Kenya’s Mateiko and Sawe plus Ethiopia’s Geleta, Lemma and Birhanu Legese.
Once the last pacemaker dropped out with the clock reading 1:33, Lemma began to falter to lose any chance of retaining his title. At the front, Mateiko and Geleta broke away from Sawe and Legese, those pairs separated by 30 metres inside the 32nd kilometre. It was Mateiko, who was not able to finish the Chicago 2023 and London 2024 marathons, who seemed to decide the victory was in his favour shortly afterwards as he became a lonesome leader. The three-time Valencia half marathon podium place finisher had built a five-second gap on Sawe and Geleta, while Legese could not maintain that pace and travelled in fourth place way back.
Mateiko’s getaway proved to be short-lived as he was reeled in by Sawe and Geleta at the 36th kilometre, when the predicted final time remained at 2:02:35. It was then that the eventual winner found another gear to speed away easily from Mateiko and Geleta, who finished fifth at the Paris Olympics. Sawe, who has completed all his nine half marathons under the 60-minute barrier, upped his pace to the 2:48/2:50 range to gradually extend his lead. By the 40km point he clocked 1:55:42, 20 seconds ahead of Geleta, while a tired Mateiko travelled another 35 seconds in arrears.
Sawe showed a magnificent display of solo running over the closing kilometres, going faster and faster as the end was approaching to finally finish unopposed in a world-leading performance of 2:02:05, including a 14:06 closing five kilometres.
Geleta, the Seville Marathon winner, improved his career best to 2:02:38 for second place, while Mateiko slowed dramatically over the final stages but still managed to finish the distance at the third time of asking in 2:04:24, holding off a late challenge from Tanzania’s 2017 world bronze medallist Alphonce Simbu.
Simbu achieved a perfectly balanced two halves (1:02:13/1:02:25) to finish fourth in a PB of 2:04:38, two seconds clear of the 42-year-old Swiss athlete Tadesse Abraham, who clocked a lifetime best and national record of 2:04:40 for fifth. In a race of an incredible depth, 10 men ducked under the 2:05 milestone while Bekele dropped out shortly after the 31st kilometre.
Sawe, the world half marathon champion, has won seven out of his nine half marathon appearances, topped by a 58:02 time in Rome in 2022. His two defeats came in Valencia, so Sunday’s performance marks his first victory in the city.
The winner, whose two halves were timed at 1:01:18 and 1:00:47, said: “Honestly, I had built up very good for this debut and was quite confident of doing well. It’s an amazing day, I’m so happy to be here and win in Valencia, which is so beautiful.
“I was used to running the half marathon event, I was comfortable during the first half, then I was close to the helm of the race and I thought I could go faster and I just did it. I dedicate this win to the victims of the Valencia floods, I pray for them.”
Alemu confirms she is the strongest
Following the withdrawal of Ethiopia’s course record-holder Amane Beriso due to a stress fracture, the women’s contest kicked off at the scheduled 3:12 rhythm in an attempt to lower the 2:14:58 course record set in 2022. The opening five and 10 kilometres were covered in 16:02 and 32:03, respectively, and by then all the favourites remained in the leading pack, with Alemu joined by her compatriot Tiruye Mesfin, Uganda’s Stella Chesang and Kenya’s Evaline Chirchir. The clock read 47:56 by the 15km mark and that cadence proved to be too quick for Mesfin and Chirchir, that pair running 18 seconds in arrears by then.
Running alongside lots of male athletes, Alemu and the Paris Olympics eighth-place finisher Chesang went through halfway in 1:07:15, well on schedule to break Beriso’s record, with Mesfin and Chirchir some 300 metres back timed at 1:08:06 but quick enough to set respective career bests. Chesang’s resistance came to an end some 1:11 into the race when she just could not stay with Alemu’s pace. The Ethiopian managed to maintain her speed until the 30th kilometre, which she reached in 1:35:55, but from then on the 27-year-old dropped her rhythm as she timed 16:48 for the following two five-kilometre sections (30-40km) and her chances of a course record clearly vanished.
Even so, Alemu’s win was never in jeopardy as she gradually strengthened her advantage on Chesang to 40 seconds by the 30th kilometre and a massive 1:21 at the 40km checkpoint, while Mesfin easily got rid of Chirchir just before reaching the 25th kilometre. At the tape, Alemu posted her second quickest ever time thanks to a 2:16:49 clocking, while the runner-up Chesang broke the 2:20 barrier for the first time in a national record of 2:18:26. Mesfin completed the classy podium, also improving her lifetime best by 12 seconds with 2:18:35.
“I know I can do a better mark but I’m happy to win today,” said Alemu. “Between 35 and 40 kilometres I wasn’t feeling good, so I decided to reduced my rhythm. At the finish line, all the people were clapping and that was really special. I can feel today it’s a different day for Valencia.”
It is only in recent weeks that event organisers were able to confirm that the race would go ahead. At the end of October, the province of Valencia was hit by extreme floods, claiming the lives of 229 people. The natural disaster lasted for more than two weeks, causing substantial damage in the area. Organisers confirmed that all the proceeds from the sponsors, the organisation’s own funds and the runners will be donated to one or more projects for the reconstruction of the affected areas.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
Leading results
Women
1 Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:16:49
2 Stella Chesang (UGA) 2:18:26
3 Tiruye Mesfin (ETH) 2:18:35
4 Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 2:20:33
5 Majida Maayouf (ESP) 2:21:43
6 Chimdesa Kumsa (ETH) 2:21:54
7 Laura Luengo (ESP) 2:22:31
8 Isobel Batt-Doyle (AUS) 2:22:59
9 Moira Stewartova (CZE) 2:23:44
10 Sara Hall (USA) 2:23:45
Men
1 Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 2:02:05
2 Deresa Geleta (ETH) 2:02:38
3 Daniel Mateiko (KEN) 2:04:24
4 Alphonce Simbu (TAN) 2:04:38
5 Tadesse Abraham (SUI) 2:04:40
6 Chimdessa Debele (ETH) 2:04:44
7 Maru Teferi (ISR) 2:04:45
8 Hillary Kipkoech (KEN) 2:04:45
9 Samuel Fitwi (GER) 2:04:56
10 Sisay Lemma (ETH) 2:04:59
Amare and Gudeta win Shanghai Marathon
Eritrea's Samsom Amare ran a PB to win the men’s title while Ethiopia’s Bekelech Gudeta won the women’s race at the Shanghai Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race, on Sunday (1).
Amare took 44 seconds off his previous best to win in 2:06:26 ahead of Kenya’s Titus Kipruto (2:06:30) and Solomon Kirwa Yego (2:06:34). Gudeta triumphed in 2:25:21, leading an Ethiopian top three ahead of Sisay Meseret Gola (2:25:29) and Tejitu Siyum (2:26:28 PB).
Amare had set his previous PB of 2:07:10 when winning the Abu Dhabi Marathon on his debut at the distance in December 2023. He went on to finish 10th in the Paris Olympics marathon, clocking 2:08:56.
Finishing four seconds behind him in Shanghai was Kipruto, who finished fourth in the Tokyo Marathon and eighth in the World Championships marathon last year. Yego was another four seconds back and was followed by his compatriots Timothy Kiplagat, Eric Kiprono Kiptanui and Kenneth Keter.
Gudeta, who set her PB of 2:22:54 when winning the Xiamen Marathon in January, had a bigger margin of victory as she finished eight seconds clear of Gola, with their compatriot Siyum finishing almost a minute further back.
China’s Zhang Deshun finished fourth and Ethiopia’s Meseret Belete fifth.
Leading results
Women
1 Bekelech Gudeta (ETH) 2:25:21
2 Sisay Meseret Gola (ETH) 2:25:29
3 Tejitu Siyum (ETH) 2:26:28
4 Zhang Deshun (CHN) 2:26:39
5 Meseret Belete (ETH) 2:30:02
Men
1 Samsom Amare (ERI) 2:06:26
2 Titus Kipruto (KEN) 2:06:30
3 Solomon Kirwa Yego (KEN) 2:06:34
4 Timothy Kiplagat (KEN) 2:06:43
5 Eric Kiprono Kiptanui (KEN) 2:07:20
