Ethiopians, Moroccans Dominate Fairfield Half

It was an African show of force in Connecticut. 

With most of the nation’s running community focused on the U.S. Olympic Trials, some road races may be getting overlooked. Last weekend, the Fairfield Half Marathon kicked off in Connecticut.

Tesfaye Girma and Ketema Niguesse, both Ethiopians, ran stride-for-stride the entire way and shared water cups throughout the race. After all, they are training partners.

The race came down to the final one-tenth of a mile when both runners kicked. Ultimately, Girma prevailed in one hour, five minutes, and 37 seconds.

“This is good for me,” Girma, who is 29 years old, said.

Niguesse placed second, while Nelson Kiplagat of Kenya took third a full two minutes and 42 seconds behind.

Malika Mejdoub of Morocco prevailed in the women’s race. Her finishing time was 1:17.47.

Turkey’s Tertza Dengersa was second six seconds behind Mejdoub.

“I’m so happy,” Mejdoub said. “I won last year and came with the idea to win this year too.”

Amy Bevilacqua was the top American. She placed sixth in 1:25:10.

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