The men’s and women’s course records tumbled at the Zurich Barcelona Marathon on Sunday (16), with Tesfaye Deriba Ketema and Sharon Chelimo winning the World Athletics Gold Label road race in 2:04:13 and 2:19:33, respectively.
Chelimo waited until the final 10km before making her move. Until then, she ran as part of a pack, going through 10km in 33:17 before reaching the half-way point in 1:10:00, putting her on track for a 2:20 finish.
The 30-year-old Kenyan, who entered the race with a PB of 2:22:07, was keen to smash through the 2:20 barrier, so she increased her pace gradually in the second half. After going through 30km in 1:39:49, she moved into the lead and opened up a gap on her opponents.
She went on to finish in 2:19:33, smashing her PB by more than two minutes and taking 11 seconds off the course record set two years ago. Ethiopia’s Yebrgual Melese was second in 2:20:47 while Kenya’s Linet Masai took third in 2:21:01.
The men’s race was somewhat closer, though Ketema was still a comfortable winner in 2:04:13, taking 48 seconds off the course record set last year. Kenya’s Cornelius Kibet Kiplagat took second place in 2:04:54 ahead of his compatriot Enock Onchari (2:05:20).
Seoul Marathon 2025 results
Meanwhile, Ethiopian duo Haftu Teklu and Bekelech Borecha took top honours at the Seoul Marathon – a World Athletics Platinum Label road race – on Sunday (16), winning in 2:05:42 and 2:21:36, respectively.
In a close contest, the men’s race was only decided in the final stages. Teklu, Felix Kiptoo Kirwa and Bernard Kiprop Koech had broken away from the rest of the field and were running shoulder to shoulder with one kilometre remaining.
With little more than a minute to go, Koech started to fade while Kirwa edged ahead. But with the finish line in sight, Teklu managed to stride past the Kenyan to take his first marathon victory in 2:05:42.
Kirwa followed two seconds later, while Koech claimed third in 2:05:50.
Borecha’s victory was more decisive. The Ethiopian had forged a lead long before the finish, breaking clear from compatriots Fikrte Weresa Admasu and Mestawut Fikir.
Borecha went on to win in 2:21:36, with Admasu taking second place in 2:22:54 and Fikir, limping across the finish line, finishing third in 2:23:10.
