Ethiopians Double Up In Dusseldorf

The men’s winner set a new course record and PR.

Dereje Debele and Melkam Gizaw did well to represent their home country of Ethiopia last weekend. The pair won the men’s and women’s races at the annual Metro Group Marathon Düsseldorf in Germany.

The 26-year-old Debele clocked 2:07:48 to win the race — good for a PR as well as a course record.

“Originally it was my aim to run 2:07,” admitted Debele. “But I am happy with the victory and the personal best.”

Second place went to Kenya’s Pius Ondoro, who ran 2:08:17. Duncan Koech (Kenya) took third in 2:09:10.

It was a fast race on Sunday as a total of five men broke the 2:10 barrier.

Meanwhile, the women’s race went to the pre-race favorite: Melkam Gizaw. She blazed through the course in 2:26:24.

“Originally I hoped to run 2:24 today, but I got a hamstring problem in the final 5km, so I could not run that fast anymore,” she said after the race.

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