Ayana, Gemechu, Chelimo and Dibaba highlight the women’s elite field for Sunday’s Valencia Marathon

Ethiopia’s Olympic and 2-time World Champion, Almaz Ayana might be one of many massive highlights within the girls’s deep elite discipline assembled for Sunday’s Valencia Marathon. This might be solely her third marathon. Her private greatest time of two:17:20 which she ran to win the Amsterdam Marathon final yr in October was the quickest marathon debut in historical past.

It might not be one of many the explanation why she is coming to run right here, however this was the place her compatriot Letesenbet Gidey broke her file of being the quickest marathon debutant in historical past after the latter ran 2:16:49 to complete second behind Amane Beriso, who had gained the race in a brand new course file and nationwide file of two:14:58, after she sprinted away from Gidey within the closing phases.

Nevertheless, the quickest on the listing is 24-year-old Tsehay Gemechu, who ran her greatest time of two:16:56 to complete second on the Tokyo Marathon in March. This might be her third marathon, her debut having been on the Amsterdam Marathon final yr the place she ran 2:18:59 to complete in third place.

Worknesh Degefa is the opposite Ethiopian within the elite discipline with a private greatest time of below 2:18. Whereas her private greatest time of two:17:41 has remained stagnant for some time since 2019, she just lately ran an honest half marathon time of 1:07:48 to win the Trento Half Marathon on the 1^st of October this yr.

The one non-Ethiopian runner with a sub 2:20 time is Romania’s Joan Chelimo who has a private greatest time of two:18:04, which she registered final yr on the Seoul Marathon.

The 33-year-old Kenyan-born might be eligible to symbolize Romania in Nationwide Consultant Competitions –based on World Athletics Eligibility to Characterize a Member Rule 1.4.2- from the three^rd of July 2024, proper on time earlier than the Paris Olympics.

1500m World Champion and Olympic silver medalist, Genzebe Dibaba, may also be the opposite massive star within the race attempting to increase her supremacy into the marathon distance. This might be her third marathon race.

Hiwot Gebrekiden who simply ran her private greatest time of 1:06:28 on the Houston Half Marathon in January and her greatest time of two:19:10 for the marathon on the Tokyo Marathon final yr, would be the different massive identify to be careful for.

As runners look out for possibilities to get the qualifying occasions for the Olympic Video games subsequent yr, the Valencia Marathon has confirmed itself to be one of many quickest programs on the earth, and runners throughout the remainder of the sphere might file a number of private greatest occasions and maybe nationwide information.

The qualifying time for the ladies is 2:26:50, and the organizers of the 2023 Valencia Marathon have invited ten pacers to assist them meet their goal occasions on Sunday, the two^nd of December 2023. There might be a quota of solely  80 runners within the marathon occasion on the 2024 Paris Olympics. The qualification interval might be between the 1^st of November 2022 and the 30^th of April 2024.