ATHLETICS

WATCH: Ethiopia’s Mesfin falls metres to Hamburg Marathon finish to hand Kenya’s Tuitoek victory

22:40 - 24 April 2023

Dorcas Tuitoek wins the 2023 Hamburg Marathon

©Adidas Running Twitter.

The Ethiopian had dominated the race but struggled on the final stretch before the stumble saw her miss an opportunity to win.

Kenya’s Dorcas Tuitoek won the Hamburg Marathon on Sunday but it was down to a stroke of good fortune after Ethiopian Tiruye Mesfin stumbled and fell just meters to the finish line.

Leading for a long time, Mesfin struggled in the final section and was forced to finish second at 2:20:18 behind Tuitoek (2:20:09), with Kenya’s Stella Chesang completing the podium after clocking 2:20:23 on her debut.

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Mesfin took the lead early with a half marathon split time of 69:46. She was, however, not as fast as she had planned.

The 2:17:23 course record was out of reach, but at 35k, Mesfin looked a certain winner. She was around a minute ahead of her rivals. But then disaster struck. The 20-year-old slowed and then stumbled and fell to the ground in the final kilometre.

Ahh! A dramatic and heartbreaking finish to the Hamburg Marathon. Long-time leader Tiruye Mesfin succumbed to cramp right on the 42km mark.

She got up and continued but was closed down by Dorcas Tuitoek who won in 2:20:09 to Mesfin’s 2:20:18. pic.twitter.com/opjRUWKOoV
— Steven Mills (@srmills90) April 23, 2023

Behind her, Tuitoek saw an opportunity and found another gear, passing Mesfin around 300 meters before the finish line to claim an unlikely victory.

“I was really surprised to win. I did not see when Tiruye Mesfin fell, I was just fully focused on myself. I still had enough energy,” said 25-year-old Tuitoek, who had a personal best of 2:24:54 before the race. “I knew that I could probably run a 2:20 time. This course is really fast and good for records.”

Dorcas Tuitoek wins a dramatic women’s race in Hamburg! 🤯

She follows up a superb win at the Rome half in March by stepping back up in distance – and taking another victory in 2:20:09.

👟 Adizero Adios Pro 3 #Adizero #ImpossibleIsNothing pic.twitter.com/1baw8CQovi
— adidas Running (@adidasrunning) April 23, 2023

Kenya’s Bernard Koech won the men’s race with a course record of 2:04:09. The 35-year-old tied his personal best and is now the fourth-fastest runner in the world this year.

Fellow-Kenyans Joshua Belet and Martin Kosgei took second and third with 2:04:33 and 2:06:18 respectively.

Athletics