By Gord Holder
Out of the fog and into the record books.
Yemane Tsegay completed the fastest marathon ever on Canadian soil on Sunday, running away from the field and running to victory in the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon.
“I would like to thank the Canadian (spectators) because I saw them all over, and that was a big encouragement,” the 29-year-old Tsegay said after crossing the finish line in two hours six minutes 54 seconds, which not only sliced 31 seconds off the national all-comers record that Deressa Chimsa established last fall in Toronto, but also obliterated the year-old Ottawa standard (2:08:04.8) set by a third Ethiopian, Tariku Jufar.
“This was the first time that I’ve (competed) in Canada, and, when I get the record, it is a really nice surprise for me, and I’m really delighted,” Tsegay added through a translator.
Tigist Tufa completed an Ethiopian sweep of the marathon titles for the second consecutive year, claiming the women’s title with a time of 2:24:31, which was not only a personal best by more than 3 1/2 minutes, but also nearly a minute better than the year-old event record of Yeshi Esayias.
“I was really very much prepared to win,” said Tufa, who crossed the line nearly three minutes ahead of Ethiopia’s Meseret Tolwak (2:27:26). Kenya’s Agnes Kiprop (2:28:05) was third.
Read more at the Ottawa Citizen.
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