Sister-in-law and brother-in-law dominate the Dubai Marathon
Tamirat Tola is the world champion when he finished first in the marathon in Oregon, USA with 2 hours 5 minutes 36 seconds on July 17, 2022, but he did not compete in the Dubai Marathon on February 12. However, the name of this Ethiopian runner was still mentioned in Dubai over the weekend thanks to the victory of two relatives. His wife, Dera Dida won the women's first place after 2 hours 21 minutes 11 seconds, while his brother, Abdisa Tola won the men's championship with a score of 2 hours 5 minutes 42 seconds.
Abdisa showed the same potential as his brother, the world champion, when he finished first in his first marathon (42.195km). Despite having no experience racing this distance, this Ethiopian runner born in 2000 is still noted for his personal best (PB) in the half marathon (21.0975km) 59 minutes 54 seconds. He continued to impress with a spectacular finish to beat the next two compatriots with only 9 and 15 seconds faster.
However, Abdisa's new PB in the marathon is only 49th in the gold table of this distance achievement among Ethiopian athletes. This young runner is also two minutes worse than his brother Tamirat Tola's PB - 2 hours 3 minutes 39 seconds, set in Amsterdam in 2021.
Unlike her brother-in-law, Dida once ran three marathons and owned a PB of 2 hours 21 minutes 45 seconds and also practiced in Dubai in 2018. But the runner born in 1996 has never finished higher than the fifth place. The Dubai Marathon over the weekend helped her win the championship for the first time, and reached a new PB with 34 seconds faster.
"The top sport has seen many cases where an athlete often finds it difficult to overcome the overwhelming shadow of a loved one. But neither Dida nor Abdisa had this problem, and then made their own mark in the world of running. ", commented Canadian Running Magazine.
On the Dubai track over the weekend, Abdisa dropped to second when he hit the 40km mark, because he entered the water station, while his compatriot Deresa Gelete skipped this water station to take the lead. However, Gelete quickly lost strength, and Abdisa gradually closed the gap and then pushed forward at the end to reach the finish line with 9 seconds faster.
The women's race also saw a duel between Dida and fellow Ethiopian Tokyo Marathon 2019 champion Ruti Aga in the last 10km. Past the water station at the 40th kilometer, Dida started a little ahead, and held the lead until the finish line, 13 seconds faster than Aga.
Besides the champion and runner-up of Adidas - Gelete, Dida - Aga, the remaining positions in the top 10 men and women all belong to Ethiopian runners.
Dubai Marathon is an annual event, born in 1998 and classified by the World Athletics Federation (World Athletics) as "Gold Label Road Race" - the group of the best road running tournaments in the world. The 2021 tournament was canceled because of Covid-19, and the 2022 tournament was moved to this year because it coincided with the World Cup at the end of last year.
The Dubai Marathon's record is currently 2 hours 3 minutes 34 seconds belongs to Ethiopian male athlete Getaneh Molla and 2 hours 17 minutes 8 seconds belongs to female runner Keyna Ruth Chepngetich, both set in 2019.
