Neither Feyisa Lilesa nor Kenenisa Bekele won London Marathon 2017
borkena,Ethiopian News
April 24,2017
Feyisa Lilesa, Rio Olympic Silver Medalist who showed a protest sign against the government in Ethiopia, and Kenenisa Bekele, who is running his own mini business empire in Ethiopia and works well with the government, were the favourites at the London Marathon 2017. They were expected to take their political difference to the race to claim for the 2017 London Marathon title.
As it turns out, it rather happened to be a contest between Kenenisa Bekele and Kenya’s Daniel Wanjiru. Daniel did it, not Kenenisa.
Kenenisa Bekele lagged behind only by about 9 seconds as Daniel Wanjiru claimed London Marathon 2017 men’s title crossing the finishing line in 2:05:48.
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And the closest Ethiopian runner to Kenenisa was Asefa Mengistu who finished seventh in a time of 2:10:04.
Feyisa Lilesa is now based in Arizona and does not have the ideal conditions for training that he used to enjoy in Ethiopia despite political problems and repression in the country.
In the women’s category, Mary Keitany of Kenya set new world record at the women London Marathon 2017. She clocked in 2:17:00. This is her third London Marathon title.
The invincible Tirunesh Dibaba had to settle for second place in 2:17:56 and Aselefech Mergia third in 2:23:08.
Tirunesh Dibaba was struggling with abdominal pain during the race. She still has good future in the distance.
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