2 min readTiruye Mesfin was mere meters away from winning the Hamburg Marathon on Sunday when her legs buckled and she fell to the pavement. The 20-year-old Ethiopian runner had entered the marathon with the goal of breaking the 2:17:23 course record, set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw in 2022, and she went out hot in pursuit of that goal, breaking away from the pack early on and leading for most of the race.
However, in those few moments when Mesfin faltered, Kenyan Dorcas Tuitoek surpassed her, taking the win in 2:20:09. Mesfin got right back up and finished strong in 2:20:18 for second place, just ahead of Stella Chesang’s third place 2:20:23 finish.
Mesfin went into Hamburg with a 2:18:47 personal best from December’s Valencia Marathon, and she told World Athletics, “I knew that I could probably run a 2:20 time. This course is really fast and good for records.”
Tuitoek says she was just running her own race and was surprised to win. She told race organizers, “I did not see when Tiruye Mesfin fell, I was just fully focused on myself. I still had enough energy. I knew that I could probably run a 2:20 time. This course is really fast and good for records.”
Chesang’s third place performance set a new Ugandan national record—smashing the previous record set by Juliet Chekwel by nearly three minutes—and secured her ticket to the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Chesang is one of the first two female Ugandan athletes to qualify for the marathon at the World Championships.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Like the Wind Magazine, The New York Times, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
