Glistening in sweat, it was an outing to remember for Ethiopians at the 50th Berlin Marathon on Sunday. Missing from the action were prolific stars like Sifan Hassan, Tigist Assefa, Eliud Kipchoge, and more. And if the fans had an iota of sadness for not being able to witness the stars, the race turned out to be a banger. Making the best of the opportunities available, Ethiopian duo Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema dazzled to take the gold in both the men’s and the women’s categories. 

Aiming for the victory, Mengesha looked right on track from the beginning. However, the Ethiopian athlete got close competition from Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut. At one point in the race, Kotut threatened to overtake Mengesha. But the Ethiopian star did not make any slip-ups and ended up with 2:03:17 to edge out the rest of the competition by a slender margin of 5 seconds.

This was one of the biggest wins for Milkesa Mengesha after he famously won the World U20 cross-country title in Denmark back in 2019. Interestingly, en route to his victory in that race, he left behind the likes of star athlete Jakob Ingebrigsten, who ended up in the 12th position. Unfortunately, Mengesha could not keep up the good work this year.

Turning up for the London Marathon in early 2024, the Ethiopian struggled to even finish the race. He pulled out at the 38 km mark, putting his track and field future in serious jeopardy. However, the manner in which his latest race did turn out was everything that Mengesha could have ever imagined.

After running almost a perfect race, an elated Mengesha stated, “But I had prepared well, so everything was okay. I had the chance to run Chicago (Oct 14), but I knew the course was very fast in Berlin, so I’m pleased I chose to run here.” Now, with the top two sorted, Ethiopia had more good news as the third place was taken by Haymanot Alew. He clocked 2:03:31 to beat Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop for the bronze. But the Ethiopian honeymoon in Berlin was just getting started. 

Tigist Ketema shines for women as Ethiopia takes the caveat

Running in the women’s category, Tigist Ketema ran a whirlwind 2:16:42 to clinch pole position. Ketema breezed to the 10 km mark in just 32:14s, which allowed her to cross the halfway mark with the clock reading 67:53s. It was then that none of her female rivals could keep up the pace, and Ketema steered clear of the competition, securing a dominant victory. Quite similar to Milkesa Mengesha, Ketema too did not have a pleasant outing in London. Running a moderate time of 2:23:21, the Ethiopians finished seventh.

But the air in Berlin probably had something magic for the Ethiopian athletes. Overjoyed by her win, Ketema stated, “I’m very grateful that I was able to run here in Berlin, and with the help of God I was able to win.” Interestingly, all three podium finishers in the women’s category happen to be Ethiopian. 

Finishing second behind Ketema were Mestawut Fikir (2:18:48) and Bosena Mulatie (2:19:00), taking third place. As a matter of fact, the top four in the women’s category were taken by Ethiopian athletes. Not lagging far behind, three of the top 5 athletes in the men’s category belonged to Ethiopians. Thus, making merry in Berlin, track fans can very well expect more such magic in the future.