I am not surprised I won – Ethiopian men’s marathoner Kitata

Ethiopian men’s marathoner Kitata hardly humble

JOHANNESBURG, May 4 (ANA) – Following his win in the Ethiopian Olympic qualifier in Sebeta over the weekend, Shura Kitata said coming out on top in the 35km race was hardly a difficult challenge.

“The race was really good, and honestly was not that hard,” said Kitata. “I’m surprised at how good I felt with the training I had, but I am not surprised I won.”

In many ways, the race was like the start of a normal training day for several Ethiopian marathoners vying for spots on the Olympic team. They arrived early to the city of Sebeta, just south of Addis Ababa, where they often go to train for their fastest sessions. At 2,200m, Sebeta is a bit lower in elevation than Addis Ababa and many other training spots in Ethiopia, which are often well over 2,600m.

The conditions were mostly good, although the air was a bit more humid than normal because of rains signalling the start the Ethiopian rainy season. And rather than a full marathon, they opted to hold the race at a distance of 35km.

But Sebeta is not Geneva, the sea level Swiss city where these trials were originally slated to happen. Because of Covid-19, travel concerns and general logistical issues, the Ethiopian Athletics Federation ultimately decided to hold the trials along a well paved road in this Oromo city, with likely Olympic champions being cheered on by local farmers and school children, instead of a select few European race organisers.

The women’s race was a slow grind, led by a few male pacemakers, and included the likes of Tokyo Marathon champion Ruti Aga, 2015 world champion Mare Dibaba and Zeineba Yimer. As these three slowly dropped off the pack, the eventual qualifiers – Roza Dereje, Birhane Dibaba and Tigist Girma – pulled away, with Girma winning in 1:59:23. Dibaba followed in 1:59:45 and Derje in 2:00:16.

The men’s race was first led by Getaneh Molla and when he dropped out Sisay Lemma took the lead, but Kinde Atanaw and Chalu Deso – an up-and-coming marathon star who will surely leave his mark on the marathon running scene in the coming years – stuck with the pace.

Ultimately, it came down to Desisa and Kitata pushing the pace, with Kitata out-sprinting his friend and training partner for the win. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman