Ethiopia’s Guye Adola stunned pre-race favorite and compatriot Kenenisa Bekele to win the men’s Berlin marathon in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday in a time of 2:05:45.
Adola finished ahead of Kenya’s Bethwel Yegon (2:06:14) and Bekele (2:06:47), who was seeking to defend his title and break Eliud Kipchoge’s world record set on the same course in 2018.
The win was a first marathon career victory for Adola, who famously pushed Kipchoge until the very final stages of the 2017 Berlin Marathon to post what was then the fastest marathon debut in history.
In the women’s race, Gotytom Gebreslase claimed the title in what was her debut marathon while clocking the third fastest time of the year posting a time of 2:20:09.
Gebreslase led an Ethiopian clean sweep of the podium as Hiwot Gebrekidan and Helen Tola came in second and third respectively in times of 2:21:23 and 2:23:05.
The 47th edition of the Berlin Marathon took place under strict hygiene regulations with majority of the runners having been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
(Story compiled with assistance from wire reports)
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