Amsterdam Marathon: A Sprint Finish and Records Galore
So, picture this: three men, one final stretch, and a dash for glory that could make even Olympic wrestlers flinch. The Amsterdam Marathon finish was thrilling – and I don’t just mean watching sprinters urge their weary legs to make a run for it like a kid who just spotted the ice cream van! Tsegaye Getachew, Boki Asefa, and Maru Teferi were all in a toe-to-toe tussle just 1 km from the finish line. The irony? Getachew almost took a detour right before entering the stadium. Perhaps he was lured by the smell of Dutch pancakes? Sadly, Teferi didn’t fare as well; he collapsed like a soufflé in a thunderstorm.
In the end, it was Getachew who scored the victory, crossing the finish line at 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 36 seconds. And let’s give a hand to Getachew – at 27 years young, he’s already clocked the 4th best time of his career. Can you believe he set his record in Amsterdam last year? Talk about consistency; this guy runs faster than I can misplace my keys!
Event Record for Yehualaw Solo
Now, while our gents battled it out like men at a pub trying to settle a bar tab, the women’s race was a bit more of a solo act. Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who is only 25 (most of us are just trying to remember where we parked our cars at that age), dominated the women’s event like she was taking candy from a baby. Well, except that baby is probably a professional athlete, or something—sporting now requires superhero skills.
Yehualaw zipped through the course with her pacer, making it look easier than cooking Instant Ramen. Even when it came to the final meters, she managed to take a wrong turn. But hey, who among us hasn’t taken a wrong lane after a long day? Yet, despite losing her bearings momentarily, she crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 16 minutes, and 52 seconds—smashing both the event record (previously held by Almaz Ayana at 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 26 seconds) and her own personal best like a pro.
And just like that, we have a new marathon queen! Let’s hope she can find her way to her post-race meal without too many wrong turns.
Yehualaw’s performance is what you call a “dominating” victory. Not only did she beat her fellow compatriot Haven Hailu (2h19’29”) and Kenyan Winfridah Moseti (2h20’27”), but she made it look like a Sunday stroll. If that doesn’t make you want to lace up your trainers and hit the pavement, I don’t know what will! Perhaps here’s a tip: leave the maps at home and just run like a gazelle.
To sum it all up, the Amsterdam Marathon was not just a race; it was a spectacle that had us biting our nails, cheering from the couch, and maybe questioning our own fitness levels. So, whether you fancy a sprint finish or a long solo run, remember—it’s all about the journey, the wrong turns, and of course, the celebratory pancakes afterward.
The finish of the Amsterdam marathon, judged after 400 m in the Olympic stadium, resulted in a sprint finish. Three men were still neck and neck 1 km from the line, the Ethiopians Tsegaye Getachew and Boki Asefa and the Israeli Maru Teferi. Getachew almost took the wrong route just before entering the stadium, but was able to get back on track while Teferi collapsed. Asefa ultimately couldn’t do anything to get back into the lead on the tartan ring and Getachew crossed the line in 2h05’36”.
At 27, the runner set the 4th time of his career, having set his record in Amsterdam in 2022 in 2h04’49”, an edition which he also won.
Event record for Yehualaw solo
The scenario was very different in the women’s race, whose winner arrived a few minutes later. The Ethiopian favorite Yalemzerf Yehualaw (25 years old), who already had two victories in London and Hamburg in 2022, took the lead, finding herself alone with her hare for a good part of the 42.195 km.
Despite the suffering and a lack of lucidity in the last meters (she took the wrong lane when crossing the finish line), she finished in 2h16’52”, erasing the record for the event (2h17 ’26” by Almaz Ayana in 2022) as well as his personal best (2h17’23”). Also fifth in the 2023 Worlds, Yehualaw beat her compatriot Haven Hailu (2h19’29”) and Kenyan Winfridah Moseti (2h20’27”).
