© Copyright – 2026 – Athletics Illustrated
The Barcelona Marathon took place on Sunday in the 2,000-year-old City of Counts, known in Spanish as la Ciudad Condal.
In her debut, Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay dominated like a Roman warrior on a campaign, finishing in 2:10:51—less than a minute shy of the world record held by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich at 2:09:56. Tesfay won by nearly eight minutes ahead of Kenya’s Joan Jepkosgei Kiplimo (2:18:42), with Ethiopia’s Zeineba Yimer close behind in third (2:18:49).
Pursuing the world record, Tesfay started by covering the first 10 km in 31:05 (2:11 pace). She and her two male pacemakers increased the pace, passing halfway in 65:05 (projected 2:10:10 finish) and hitting 30 km in 1:32:00 (2:09:23 pace). The performance shattered both the course record and the Ethiopian national record previously held by Tigist Assefa at 2:11:53.
Women’s marathon running is entering a new era of human performance. Chepngetich set the world record at the 2024 Chicago Marathon before being suspended for doping. Assefa’s 2023 Berlin Marathon record also raised eyebrows due to her sudden leap in performance.
Tesfay’s run represents a striking outlier. Her half-marathon best before this was 63:21 at the 2024 Valencia Half Marathon, followed by 63:35 in 2025 at Berlin. Remarkably, she cut over five minutes from her half-marathon best in just 11 months—from 68:46 in 2023 to 63:21 in 2024. Her 10K times followed a similar jump: after years in the 33-minute range, she ran 30:26 in 2023, then dropped into the 29s in 2024. On the track, she broke 29 minutes in the 10,000m in 2024 during the Ethiopian Olympic Trials, and ran a 14:28.53 5000m in the Brussels Diamond League. Before then, she was running 15-16 minutes in the 5000m and 31-33 minutes in the 10,000m.
According to World Athletics points, none of her personal bests previously suggested a marathon capability near this level. Her Valencia Half Marathon, valued at 1270 points, projected a 2:14:00 marathon—nearly identical to the time of former world record holder Brigid Kosgei (2:14:04). Tesfay’s 2:10:51 performance is therefore exceptional and raises fascinating questions about her rapid progression.
In the men’s race, Uganda’s Abel Chelangat edged Kenya’s Patrick Mosin for the win in 2:04:57. Mosin and Chelangat ran shoulder-to-shoulder until 40 km, but Chelangat surged to the finish, crossing the line four seconds ahead of Mosin (2:05:01). Kenya’s Jonathan Samanayo Korir took third in 2:05:29.
Likewise, the 32-year-old Chelangat’s previous marathon best was 2:08:49. He has also run 2:09:25, 2:10:01 and 2:10:11. This 2:04:57 is an unanticipated jump in performance. Korir, age 30, also had an unexpected jump in performance.
The City of Counts’ founder and first Roman emperor, Gaius Octavius, also known as Augustus, must surely be impressed.
He is known for his final moments on his deathbed, “Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit.”
Results
Men
- Abel Chelangat — 2:04:57
- Patrick Kabirech Mosin — 2:05:01
- Jonathan Samanayo Korir — 2:05:29
- Moses Kipngetich Kemei — 2:05:53
- Kaan Kigen Özbilen — 2:06:01
- Haile Tigabu Desta — 2:06:20
- Timothy Kipkorir Kattam — 2:06:42
- Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba — 2:06:55
- Mekuant Ayenew Gebre — 2:07:42
- Vincent Kipkorir Kigen — 2:07:46
- Haftom Welday — 2:08:15
- Yismaw Atinafu Yitayew — 2:08:48
- Chebon Stephen Kipkech — 2:09:03
- Shumi Dechasa Leche — 2:10:52
- Mogos Tuemay Abrha — 2:10:53
Women
- Fotyen Tesfay Hailu — 2:10:53
- Joan Jepkosgei Kiplimо — 2:18:42
- Zeineba Yimer Worku — 2:18:49
- Chaltu Chimdesa Kumsa — 2:23:32
- Yalganesh Eskamech Gedefa — 2:24:05
- Carolina Robles Campos — 2:24:58
- Lucy Nthenya Ndambuki — 2:28:02
- Gladys Tejeda — 2:29:51
- Sofia Assefa Abebe — 2:31:29
- Loréna Meningand — 2:31:52
- David Torres Altarriba — 2:34:15
- Andrea Meier — 2:36:36
- Fabiana Lafuente Pochettino — 2:36:43
- Laura Jegeleviciute — 2:37:27
- Veronika PálenÃková — 2:38:11
