Tigist Ketema Obliterates Marathon Debut Record in Dubai
The 25-year-old had never raced anything longer than a 10K.
PUBLISHED: JAN 08, 2024 3:05 PM EST
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Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema, 25, turned heads on Sunday at the Dubai Marathon when she won her debut marathon in 2:16:07.
It wasn’t just her finishing time, which puts her eighth all-time in the world. It wasn’t just the fact that this was the fastest debut marathon time. But until Sunday’s race, Ketema hadn’t raced farther than a 10K, according to World Athletics.
Ketema, who is now the third-fastest Ethiopian at the distance, had run 2:02.00 for 800 meters, 4:00.91 for 1500 meters, and 8:43.91 for 3,000 meters. She ran a negative split in Dubai, after covering the first half in 1:08:08.
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“I was quite afraid of the distance before I ran my first marathon, but now, I wonder why,” Ketema told World Athletics.
Fellow Ethiopian, Ruti Aga, placed second in 2:18:09; her nephew, Addisu Gobena, just 19 years old, won the men’s race in 2:05:01.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner’s World, the author of The Runner’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:40 5K, and 5:33 mile. Her work has been published in The Boston Globe, Popular Mechanics, The Wall Street Journal Buy Side, Forbes Vetted, Cooking Light, CNN, Glamour, The Associated Press, and Livestrong.com.