Chicago Marathon 2012: Ethiopians Tsegaye Kebede, Atsede Baysa steal the show

By Nasir Qureshi Oct 8th, 2012 ( No Comment )

Chicago: Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede finished first in the Chicago Marathon, crossing the line in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 38 seconds on Sunday.

He easily shattered the previous record of 2:05:37 set by Kenya’s Moses Mosop last year.

“This is a great day for us, for Ethiopia, especially,” Kebede said.

Atsede Baysa made it a sweep for the country with a thrilling win in the women’s race.

Baysa finished in 2:22:03, a second ahead of Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo. That ended the three-year run of Russia’s Liliya Shobukhova, who placed fourth at 2:22:59. Kenya’s Lucy Kabuu (2:22:41) was third, AP reported.

“I came to win this race,” Baysa said. “When I came upon the finish line, I knew I won the race.”

Jeptoo knew it, too, but was elated anyway. That’s why she raised her arms at the line.

“I was happy because I finished second, and I had a lot of energy to finish,” Jeptoo said.

The winners each received $100,000. Kebede earned an extra $50,000 for setting the course record and Baysa got another $10,000 for running a sub 2:24:00.