Gashaw, Ketema win Great Ethiopian Run
From left Hailemariam Amare, Abe Gashaw and Gemechu Dida during the prize ceremony of the Sofi Malt Great Ethiopian Run International 10km road race on November 20, 2022.
What you need to know:
- In the women's category, Ketema from Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise clocked 32:54.50, narrowly beating Mestawet Fikiru from Addis Ababa Police who timed 32:55.20, while Foten Tesfaye from Commercial Bank of Ethiopia was third in 33:01.50.
- Winners in both categories went home with Sh 228,876, while second place finishers pocketed Sh114,438 and third placers got Sh 57,219.
In Addis Ababa
Home athletes Abe Gashaw and Tigist Ketema were Sunday crowned champions of this year's Sofi Malt Great Ethiopian Run International 10km road race here in Addis Ababa.
Gashaw, who is from Debre Birhan University, timed 28:32.30 ahead of Hailemariam Amare representing Federal Maremia, who clocked 28:34.70, while Gemechu Dida from Ethio Electric was third in 28:36.90.
“The race was good and I’m glad my preparations have borne fruit. Winning here has given me motivation to continue training and working hard,” said Gashaw.
In the women's category, Ketema from Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise clocked 32:54.50, narrowly beating Mestawet Fikiru from Addis Ababa Police who timed 32:55.20, while Foten Tesfaye from Commercial Bank of Ethiopia was third in 33:01.50.
Winners in both categories went home with Sh 228,876, while second place finishers pocketed Sh114,438 and third placers got Sh 57,219.
Race founder Haile Gebrselassie said the race has been a platform for upcoming athletes to nurture their talent.
London Marathon champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw won the race in 2021.
“The race has been good for the upcoming elite athletes, and it has also been able to unite Ethiopians and we are glad that it is growing every year. We always welcome guests from Kenya and Uganda to experience what we have, and this year was no different because we had the two-time Boston Marathon champion Moses Tanui and the Olympics marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir gracing the event," the legendary athlete said.
“We are at an advanced stage of making sure we unite the two countries through sports and we in the process of forming a sister-city partnership between Eldoret in Kenya and Bokoji in Ethiopia because we want to take the sport to another level,” he added.
Bokoji is home to Ethiopia’s Athletics Federation President Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh Dibaba, Genzebe Dibaba among others.
