THERE are Ethiopian runners in the Cape Town Marathon race of 42.2km, Huseyidin Mohammed won the men’s race, and Dera Dida Yami won the women’s race yesterday in Cape Town.
Mohamed crossed the line in 2:04:55 breaking the record of his family, Abdisa Tola Adera, of 2:08:15 which he recorded in 2024.
Second was Yihunilign Adane in 2:04:59, third was Kalipus Lomwai from Kenya in 2:05:06.
In the women’s category, Yami won in 2:23:18, slightly beating Glenrose Xaba’s record of 2:22:22 set in 2024.
Second and third were Ethiopian ladies, Mestawut Fikir in 2:23:46 and Waganesh Amare in 2:23:57.
In the men’s field, the Ethiopians were the only ones with a strong performance by the Kenyan runner, Eliud Kipchoge, who didn’t see it in action, finishing in 16th place with a time of 2:13:29.
And the South African lion, Stephen Mokoka, finished in 13th place with a time of 2:10:48.
This veteran, who runs for the Hollywood Athletics Club, is the one who still holds the record for winning this race the most times as he has won it three times, in 2018, 2021 and 2022.
Speaking to the media after the race, Mohamed thanked the race organizers for inviting him to the Abbott World Marathon Major race.
“I broke the record in this big race in Africa, that means a lot to me. I am happy to run in this race, the route was beautiful. We need to run races like this in Africa every year,” said Mahamed.
Yami promised to come back next year to try to break the women’s record in this race.
“This was a special race for me because I was able to win it in my home continent of Africa, in South Africa.
I felt confident when I reached the 36km mark, I told myself to push harder to win the race.
My victory in this race is addressed to all Africans, I congratulate the organizers of the race for organizing a high-quality race of this kind.
My goal was to break the record but it didn’t happen the way I intended. I will come back next year and try again,” said Yami.
The dominance of newcomers in this race was accompanied by the withdrawal of several prominent South African runners including Elroy Gelant, Nadeel Wildschutt, Precious Mashele and Thabang Mosiako, who were highly regarded.