According to Dubai Marathon organizers, if there is such a thing as a first family in athletics, then it must be the Tola-Dida clan from Ethiopia.
One of their favourite watering holes is the Dubai race. The event is celebrating its 25th year on Sunday morning. Current Olympic men’s champion Tamirat Tola won Dubai in 2017 on 2:04:11, while spouse Dera Dida won in 2023 in 2:21:11. On the same day that her brother-in-law, (Tamirat’s younger sibling Abdisa) won the men’s title in 2:05:42.
Tamirat went on to greater things, earning a world championship silver medal in London later in 2017. Then it was gold in the delayed world championship in Eugene in 2022, a New York Marathon victory in 2023, and the Olympic crown last year. This time around, he has a far more important task, staying at home and minding their daughter — being a dad.
Because bringing their daughter (even with a nanny) to last year’s Dubai race may have distracted Dera from a repeat victory. However, she still finished third in 2:19:29, two minutes faster than the previous year. This time, she is determined to win her second Dubai Marathon while Tamirat watches on TV back home on the outskirts of the capital Addis Ababa.
As befits a first family, only the best is good enough, and their training group has got to be one of the strongest in the world. Among her running partners are former marathon world record holder and Olympic silver medallist Tigst Assefa as well as the current marathon World Champion Amane Beriso. “I don’t train with the group daily,” she said through an interpreter. “On a day-to-day basis, I train with Tamirat, but I join them occasionally. Since Tamirat won the Olympics, we’ve had a lot more media interest, but we try to concentrate on our running and not get too distracted.”
Well, her rivals (and compatriots) here in Dubai, Tigist Girma and Zeineber Yimer already have plenty to distract her, given that their respective best times, 2:18:52 and 2:19:07 are better than her 2:19:24), but not so much as to deter her “I think I’m in shape to run the course record of 2:16:07, set by another colleague Tigist Ketema last year. I hope that will be enough to win.”
Another return winner has equally high aspirations, although injuries have ploughed a broad furrow between Lelisa Desisa’s glory days and Sunday’s race. Lelisa was one of many debutant winners in Dubai over the last decade or so, but he came in winning probably the most exciting race in Dubai Marathon history. On a rare foggy day in the Emirates, Lelisa emerged from the mists with a superb sprint finish to clock 2:04:45, and outpace four close pursuers who all finished within a handful of seconds, the first time five men had ever gone inside two hours, five minutes for a marathon.
Like Tamirat, Lelisa went on to have a superlative set of follow-up races, two victories and two second-place finishes in Boston and a win in New York, culminating with the world title on a torrid night in Doha 2019. A series of injuries and the pandemic halted his progress, but he maintains he’s back close to his best.
Following today’s press conference, he said, “I’ve been training with Milkesa (Mengesha), who won the Berlin Marathon last year, and with Deresa (Geleta), who finished second in Valencia; I think I’m as good, and they’re running 2:02/2:03. Things have changed a lot since I won here in 2013. At that time, we were thinking of 2:04 to 2:07 for a marathon, now we have to think of two hours! I think I can run a personal best on Sunday.”
Since his best remains the 2:04:45 from 2013, if he and his young rivals can get anywhere near that, they’ll be threatening the course record of 2:03:34 that another colleague Getaneh Mollah ran here in 2019.
An intriguing entrant is former world record holder, Dennis Kimetto of Kenya. Kimetto had a short stellar career during which (in addition to other top victories) he won three of the more important marathons in the world, Chicago, Tokyo and Berlin, breaking the course record in each event. He set the world record in the final one, in the 2014 Berlin Marathon. Kimetto was the first to run sub 2:03 (2:02:57) and his record stood for four years. Obviously, at ten days short of his 41st birthday, Dubai 2025 is going to be a very different challenge for Kimetto. The current masters (40-plus) world record is held by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele at 2:04:15 set in London in 2024.
A live stream of the Dubai Marathon will be available on Sunday from 6 am local time at: www.dubaimarathon.org
Elite runners with personal bests
MEN:
Dennis Kimetto KEN 2:02:57
Lelisa Desisa ETH 2:04:45
Dino Sefir ETH 2:04:50
Shifera Tamru ETH 2:05:18
Gebru Redahgne ETH 2:05:58
Ashenafi Moges ETH 2:06:12
Abay Alemu ETH 2:06:50
Mesfin Nigusu ETH 2:07:58
Tadele Demissie ETH 2:08:25
Desalegn Girma ETH 2:08:30
Berehanu Tsegu ETH Debut
Boki Diriba ETH Debut
WOMEN:
Tigist Girma ETH 2:18:52
Zeineba Yimer ETH 2:19:07
Dera Dida ETH 2:19:24
Etagegne Woldu ETH 2:20:03
Gadise Mula ETH 2:20:59
Bedatu Hirpa ETH 2:21:09
Beyenu Degefa ETH 2:23:04
Kuftu Tahir Dadiso ETH 2:23:14
Tigist Geshaw ETH 2:24:39
Kebebush Yisma ETH 2:27:46
Mulugojam Ambi ETH 2:28:59
Betukan Welde ETH Debut
Etenesh Diro ETH Debut
Bekelech Teku ETH Debut
Alem Tsadik ETH Debut
