The 45th edition of the Zurich Marató Barcelona will be held next Sunday, March 10th. The elite start list of Barcelona’s main race will put the new course to the test. The athletes will attempt to beat the current course records. Set in the previous edition by Marius Kimutai (2:05:06) and Zeineba Yimer Worku (2:19:44).
There will be 28 men and 13 women who will make up the list of candidates to stand on the podium of Barcelona’s Marathon.
In the men’s category, Abebe Negewo is ready to beat Kimutai’s record. The Ethiopian has a personal best time of 2:04:51. He is a solid runner who already knows what it is like to run in Barcelona, where he got second place in this same race in 2019 (2:06:49). “I’m convinced that the new route will help me to finally cross the finish line in Barcelona being the first. I’m in great shape for 2024. And I’m really looking forward to meeting this city again and winning this time,” explains Negewo.
Also, among the contenders for Barcelona’s top places will be Ethiopia’s Fikre Bekele. Bekele won the 2022 Linz Marathon in Austria in 2:06:16. Another athlete to watch out for is Kenyan Edmond Kipngetich, winner of the 2023 Ljubljana Marathon 2023 in 2:06:47. Kipngetich is in great shape in Barcelona and has a half-marathon personal best of 59:25. The sub-60 was achieved in the Copenhagen’s half-marathon in Denmark two years ago, in 2022. It is worth mentioning the Eritrean athlete now a Swiss citizen, Abraham Tadesse. Tadesse is ready to try to break the world record in the M40 record. His performance at the 2023 Berlin Marathon of 2:05:10 makes him a strong candidate for that record and for a victory in Barcelona.
In the women’s field, and with the rankings in hand, the main favourite will be Ethiopian Degitu Azimeraw. She had a very good time (2:17:58) in the London Marathon in 2021. She has recently returned to competition after maternity leave. “At the end of 2023, I returned to run a marathon. I feel that I have regained the competitive rhythm to impose myself in Barcelona and set a new course record, says Azimeraw.
Among Azimeraw’s rivals, Zinah Senbeta, who won in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in 2023 with a time of 2:21:05 is in great shape. Ethiopia’s Bone Cheluke will also be fighting for the win. Carrying a best time of 2:24:37 at the Košice Marathon (Slovakia). She was third in 2022. Finally, to highlight the presence of the Kenyan Aurelia Kiptui, who has a best time of 2:26:49. She was second in the marathon of her city, Nairobi (Kenya), in 2023. A performance that Kiptui has achieved in a high altitude marathon like Nairobi just five months ago. That peformance shows the athlete is in a great shape to challenge her opponents in Barcelona.
