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Kenya’s Marius Kipserem and Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh stormed the finish line to secure victories in the first-ever ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon this morning.
The event was attended by over 10,000 professional and novice runners who took part in the inaugural ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon across four race categories - 42k, 10k, 5k and 2.5k - and were able to take in the capital’s iconic landmarks including Emirates Heritage Village and Qasr Al Hosn. In a special awards ceremony held outside the headquarters of the marathon’s title sponsor, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the event’s trophies were presented to first, second and third place male and female finishers in the 42k, 10k and wheelchair races. All participants who took part also received a congratulatory medal.
Beating his personal best, 2016 Rotterdam Marathon winner Marius Kipserem from Kenya crossed the finish line in a time of 2:04:04, securing his place in history as the first male winner of the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon and recording the 12th best marathon time in the world. He was followed 12 seconds later by fellow Kenyan and half-marathon record holder Abraham Kiptum who also beat his personal best with a time of 2:04:16. The marathon’s third place award went to Ethiopia’s Dejena Gonfa who secured a time of 2:07:06.
Commenting after his win, Kipserem said: “I feel very good and happy because I ran my personal best today. The route was perfect and it was great weather.”
In-form long-distance runner Ababel Yeshaneh from Ethiopia secured the first elite female victory at the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, storming the line with a time of 2:20:16. Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba crossed in second place with a time of 2:20:54, the best performance by an Asian female athlete in 2018. Chumba was followed over the finish line by Ethiopian runner Gelete Burka with a time of 2:24:07.
Ababel Yeshaneh expressed her delight in winning the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon: “I’m pleased with my result and personal best performance. It’s my first time in Abu Dhabi and I was very happy with the route of the marathon.”
Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba commented: “I am proud and I ran a good time for second place. It was a competitive race and it is my first time in Abu Dhabi. Everyone is very friendly and I am so happy to be here.”
Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Executive Office Director at ADNOC, said: “ADNOC has been proud to play an integral part in bringing such an iconic event, the marathon, to Abu Dhabi. The UAE has long been recognized as one of the world’s great destinations, now placing the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon on the same map as all of the great marathon cities of the world. Thank you to everyone who made today’s event a beautiful part of our great history.”
H.E Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council said: “Bringing a new world-class sports event to the city of Abu Dhabi has been an exciting and rewarding challenge. The success of the first edition of the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon has been cemented with over 10,000 runners taking part across the four race categories and we aim to build on this in the coming years. A special mention and congratulations must go to the winners of today’s races and to all the international athletes who travelled from across the world to be with us here today.”
Richard Kimunyan and Abeba Semanew successfully completed the male and female 10k race respectively with a time of 28:21 and 32:40, followed by second and third place male and female finishers, Maxwell Rotich, Emily Kipchumba, Samir Jouaher and Anne-Mari Hyrylainen.
The elite wheelchair category was won by Husain Al Mazam followed by Rashed Al Dhaheri, both from the UAE, and the 10k by Abdollah Fard, Abdulla Al Ghaferi and Theban Al Mheiri.
Andrea Trabuio, Race Director, said: “The results of ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon exceeded expectations, both in terms of the number of runners and the amazing records achieved today.”
He added: “We are very optimistic about the next edition of the marathon. After this successful edition, we can absolutely say that we now have one of the most competitive marathons in the world.”
Yeshaneh and Chumba joined Kipserem and Kiptum in securing the best performances of their careers to date.
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