Hirpa and Gemechu Shine as Ethiopia Guidelines the 2025 Dubai Marathon
Ethiopian runners dominated the 2025 Dubai Marathon on Sunday, sweeping the rostrum in males’s and ladies’s races. Bedatu Hirpa and Bute Gemechu led the cost, delivering standout performances that underscored Ethiopia’s distance operating prowess.
Within the ladies’s race, Hirpa pulled off a dramatic victory. The 25-year-old surged to the entrance within the ultimate meters, clocking a large Private Greatest of two:18:27. Her win wasn’t straightforward. For a lot of the race, it appeared her coaching companion, Dera Dida, would declare back-to-back titles after her 2023 triumph.
The race started with a decent pack of 5 runners pushing by way of 25 kilometers. Hirpa and Dida then made their transfer, breaking away from the remainder. Dida, trying robust, pulled forward with 5 kilometers to go. However within the lengthy ending straight, she faltered. Abdomen cramps slowed her tempo, and Hirpa capitalized. Trailing by 10 seconds with lower than a kilometer to run, Hirpa discovered one other gear. She closed the hole and handed Dida simply earlier than the road.
Hirpa’s profitable time was a major enchancment on her earlier finest of two:21:09, set in Amsterdam simply three months in the past. Dida completed 5 seconds behind, additionally setting a private finest of two:18:32. Tigist Girma, making her return to marathon racing after a 12 months’s hiatus, positioned third in 2:20:47.
The boys’s race was equally thrilling. Bute Gemechu, making his marathon debut, surged forward on the 35-kilometer mark. The 23-year-old pulled away from a powerful area, operating solo for the ultimate stretch. Shifera Tamru, who tried to reel him in with 2 kilometers to go, got here inside 20 meters however couldn’t maintain the hassle.
Gemechu crossed the road in 2:04:51, securing Ethiopia’s fifth consecutive win by a debutant within the Dubai males’s race. Berehanu Tsegu completed second in 2:05:14, whereas Tamru held on for third in 2:05:28. Ethiopia’s dominance was full, with its athletes claiming the highest 14 spots within the males’s race.
The ladies’s occasion mirrored this success, with Ethiopian runners occupying the primary 16 locations. Hirpa’s victory was notably candy, given the caliber of her rivals. Dida, the spouse of reigning Olympic marathon champion Tamirat Tola, had seemed poised for an additional win till her late struggles.
“I didn’t anticipate to win at the moment, however I stayed centered,” Hirpa mentioned after the race. “After I noticed Dida slowing, I knew I had an opportunity. I’m so pleased with this outcome.”
Gemechu, too, was ecstatic. His win marked a shocking begin to his marathon profession, following his victory within the Guizhou Zhenning Huangguoshu Half Marathon final June. “It’s a dream come true to win my first marathon,” he mentioned. “The tempo was powerful, however I felt robust within the ultimate kilometers.”
The Dubai Marathon has lengthy been a stage for Ethiopian excellence, and 2025 was no exception. The quick, flat course and ideally suited climate situations supplied the right backdrop for an additional chapter of dominance. The race continues to draw high expertise, providing a beneficiant prize purse and the chance to put up world-class instances.
Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto, a former world document holder, was the primary non-Ethiopian finisher within the males’s race. Now 41, Kimetto positioned fifteenth, removed from his prime however nonetheless displaying resilience.
Ethiopia’s marathon depth stays unmatched. From grassroots improvement to elite teaching, the nation’s operating system constantly produces world-class athletes. The Dubai Marathon’s outcomes solely reinforce this popularity.
For Hirpa and Gemechu, these wins are stepping stones to even greater targets. Each expressed aspirations to compete in main worldwide marathons and championship occasions. With their performances in Dubai, they’ve firmly positioned themselves on the worldwide radar.
The 2025 Dubai Marathon wasn’t only a showcase of pace; it was a masterclass in technique and psychological toughness. Hirpa’s late surge and Gemechu’s decisive breakaway highlighted the significance of timing and composure underneath strain. Because the solar set on one other profitable version of the race, one factor was clear: Ethiopia’s distance runners are in a league of their very own, persevering with to encourage and dominate.
