By Chris Chavez
January 7, 2024
Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema won the Dubai Marathon in 2:16:07 for the fastest marathon debut by a woman in history.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Ketema, who had no race on her record over 10K on the road, stunned the field to win by more than two minutes and set a new course record on the pancake-flat Dubai Marathon course. Her compatriots Ruti Aga (2:18:09) and Dera Dida (2:19:29) led an Ethiopian podium sweep.
– The 25-year-old spent much of the 2023 season on the track. She ran seven races on the track from 1500m to 5000m. The season was highlighted by a 15:17.27 personal best for 5000m at the Brussels Diamond League but she finished 13th in that race.
– The previous fastest women’s marathon debut was half marathon world record holder Letesenbet Gidey’s 2:16:49 from the 2022 Valencia Marathon.
You can re-watch the 2023 Dubai Marathon here:
– Ketema is coached by Gemedu Dedefo, who also coaches Tigist Assefa. Assefa was an Olympic finalist in the 800m at the 2016 Olympics and then transitioned to the roads before debuting in the marathon in 2:34:01 at the 2022 Riyadh Marathon (while struggling with some health issues.) Assefa shocked many with her improvement to win the 2022 Berlin Marathon in 2:15:37 (then-No. 3 on the all-time list) and then demolished the world record in 2:11:53 to win the 2023 Berlin Marathon. Like Assefa, Ketema has a strong middle distance background with a 2016 World Junior Championship 800m bronze medal, a 2:02.28 800m personal best from 2017 and a 4:00.91 personal best for 1500m from 2021.
– Here’s what she said after the race (according to The National News):
“I was quite afraid of the distance before I ran my first marathon but now, I wonder why…I came here as one of the hopefuls but I didn’t really expect to win. Obviously, I’m delighted and am now looking forward to more marathon races with such a wonderful start to the year. I’m not sure where I’ll be heading next but right now I’m going to cherish and celebrate my first marathon win, take a short break, and then back to training for the next race.”
– For those wondering what shoes she wore during the race, Ketema was wearing the Adidas Adios Pro Evo 1. Those are the same shoes worn by Assefa in her marathon world record. The shoes have made headlines for their retail price of $500 and for being designed to be worn only once for a marathon race.
– The men’s race was won in 2:05:01 by 19-year-old Addisu Gobena, also making his debut.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
