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Haspa Marathon Hamburg:

Yalemzerf Yehualaw runs sensational 2:17:23 marathon debut in Hamburg

Yalemzerf Yehualaw won the Haspa Marathon Hamburg, producing a sensational
marathon debut. The 22 year-old Ethiopian clocked 2:17:23 which is the
fastest time by a debutant ever. So far Paula Radcliffe's time of 2:18:56
from London in 2002 was the fastest debut time by a woman. Yalemzerf
Yehualaw became the sixth fastest women in the history of marathon running,
broke the course record and set a German Allcomer record. Fikrte Wereta
took second in 2:26:15 and Bone Cheluke made it an all-Ethiopian podium
with 2:26:23 for third place.

In the men's race Eliud Kipchoge's 2:05:30 course record from 2013 was
broken by fellow-Kenyan Cybrian Kotut. He clocked 2:04:47, just edging
Uganda's debutant Stephen Kissa who crossed the line one second behind the
winner. Ethiopia's Workineh Tadesse followed in third place with 2:05:07.

A total of 20,000 entries from 68 nations were registered by organisers for
the 36th edition of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg, including shorter running
events on Sunday. Around 10,500 of them competed in the marathon.
Additionally 9,000 children participated in a 4.2 k run on Saturday.

"That was a great spring comeback for us. We presented a stunning race on
the streets of Hamburg and we are proud of the extremely strong results
including two course records and a unique debut by Yalemzerf Yehualaw,"
said chief organiser Frank Thaleiser.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw came in late on Thursday and missed the pre-race press
conference, but she took centre stage on Sunday when it mattered. In sunny
but windy conditions and temperatures around 10 Celsius Ethiopia's
Yalemzerf Yehualaw dominated the women's race from the beginning and
constantly increased her lead. She ran past the half marathon mark in a
super fast 68:30. At this point she was already over two and a half minutes
ahead. At the end of the race the gap between her and the second runner was
almost nine minutes. "The race went well for me considering this was my
first marathon. The fast Hamburg course suited me and the spectators helped
me a lot," said the winner. Yalemzerf Yehualaw was around four and a half
minutes faster than former Hamburg course record holder Meselech Melkamu of
Ethiopia (2:21:54 in 2016). Additionally she broke the German Allcomers
record of Kenya's Gladys Cherono who ran 2:18:11 in Berlin in 2018.

In the men's race things looked a lot closer from the beginning. 17 men
passed the 10k mark in 29:29. A major surge came late in the race with only
four kilometres to go. Cybrian Kotut and Stephen Kissa, a debutant from
Uganda, broke away from the leading group which included six runners at
that point. Both delivered a stunning showdown right to the finish line. In
the final sprint Cybrian Kotut pushed himself to a close victory in
2:04:47, a second ahead of Stephen Kissa (2:04:48). Ethiopia's Workineh
Tadesse took third spot in 2:05:07. All three runners were within the
former course record of Eliud Kipchoge which stood at 2:05:30. The Kenyan
superstar set this record back in 2013 running his marathon debut in
Hamburg. ''I am very happy that I broke the course record. The pacemakers
covered me well from the wind. It was not easy with the wind, but overall
the conditions were very good," said Cybrian Kotut.

The fastest German runner was Florian R?ser. He ran a solid marathon debut
in 2:15:03. ''I'm very surprised to be the fastest German athlete. The race
was not ideal for me but considering that this was my debut it was good,"
he said.

Kristina Hendel was the dominant German woman in the field. She finished
the race in a strong fifth position with a personal best of 2:27:29. "We
had to fight against the wind from kilometer 8 till 31. On top of that I
got cramps but they eased later in the race. I broke my personal best and I
am very proud of that. I hope I will run in a German vest at the European
Championships in Munich," said Christina Hendel. The former Croatian gained
German citizenship in 2021 but is not eligible yet to compete for Germany
internationally. Deborah Sch?neborn finished the race as the second fastest
German woman in 9th place with a time of 2:29:51.

Results, Men:
1. Cybrian Kotut KEN 2:04:47
2. Stephen Kissa UGA 2:04:48
3. Workineh Tadesse ETH 2:05:07
4. Victor Kiplangat UGA 2:05:09
5. Abebe Negewo ETH 2:06:05
6. Masresha Bere ETH 2:06:44
7. Edwin Kiptoo KEN 2:06:52
8. Abraham Kiptoo KEN 2:06:59
9. Bazewe Asmare ETH 2:07:13
10. Bernard Ngeno KEN 2:07:27

Women:
1. Yalemzerf Yehualaw ETH 2:17:13
2. Fikrte Wereta ETH 2:26:15
3. Bone Cheluke ETH 2:26:23
4. Tseginesh Mekonnen ETH 2:26:29
5. Kristina Hendel CRO 2:27:29
6. Priscah Jeptoo KEN 2:28:48
7. Rosa Chacha ECU 2:28:52
8. Gadise Mulu ETH 2:28:37
9. Deborah Sch?neborn GER 2:29:51
10. Jana Soethout GER 2:34:28

More information is available at: www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de

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