Yehualaw Sets New Women's Course Record at Amsterdam Marathon

Sunday, 20 October 2024

Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia shattered the women's course record at the 2024 TCS Amsterdam Marathon, clocking a remarkable 2:16:52.

After a challenging eighth-place finish at the London Marathon in April, the 25-year-old Yehualaw swiftly moved to the front, passing the 10 km mark at 32:23. She then decisively pulled ahead of Bahrain's Desi Jisa. By the halfway point, clocked at 1:08:02, Yehualaw led, with Jisa trailing closely at 1:08:14. The gap between them and the next set of runners—Haven Hailu from Kenya, Winfidah Moseti from Kenya, and Ethiopia's Bedatu Hirpa—was 30 seconds. This trio managed to catch Jisa by the 25 km mark, recorded at 1:21:15.

At 30 km, reached in 1:36:23, Yehualaw had widened her lead to 63 seconds over Hailu and Moseti. She extended this lead further, ultimately winning spectacularly in Amsterdam's historic Olympic Stadium with a time of 2:16:52. This performance beat the previous record of 2:17:20, set by Almaz Ayana in 2022, by 28 seconds.

Besides her new course record, Yehualaw also holds the 10 km world record at 29:14 and has victories in London and Hamburg in 2022.

Hailu secured second place with a time of 2:19:52, while Moseti finished third in 2:20:27, narrowly ahead of Gladys Chesir by three seconds. Hirpa and Aminet Ahmed completed the course in 2:21:09 and 2:21:24, respectively.

In the men's division, Tsegaye Getachew led an Ethiopian sweep with a time of 2:05:38, narrowly edging out Boki Asefa by two seconds and Maru Teferi of Israel by four seconds. The top six were rounded out by Justus Kangogo (2:06:45), Kennedy Kimutai (2:07:13), and Felix Kipkoech (2:07:39).

The race started with a tight pack of 15 runners hitting 10 km in 29:27. By halfway, recorded at 1:02:31, fourteen were still in contention, including Getachew and Asefa. The race heated up post-33 km when pacemakers stepped aside, and the leading group dwindled to four. Kimutai fell back at 38 km, setting up a thrilling final sprint among Getachew, Asefa, and Teferi.

Getachew, despite a late-race directional mistake, managed to hold his lead and secured victory as he entered the Olympic Stadium, clinching the title for the second time.

Khalid Choukoud was the highest-placed Dutch runner, finishing tenth in 2:09:30.

The event saw a record turnout of 48,000 participants, with 22,500 in the full marathon and nearly 20,000 in the half marathon.