Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay made a exceptional first exhibiting on the marathon distance on Sunday, operating 2:10:53 on the Zurich Barcelona Marathon in Spain to set the quickest debut ever by a girl. The time strikes the 28-year-old to second on the all-time marathon checklist, lower than a minute behind the world document, and units a brand new Ethiopian nationwide document and a course document.
Tesfay received the race comfortably, ending practically eight minutes forward of Kenya’s Joan Jepkosgei Kiplimowho ran 2:18:42, whereas Ethiopia’s Zeineba Yimer positioned third in 2:18:49.
A robust transition from shorter distances
Tesfay got here to Barcelona already recognized for pace at shorter distances. She was already the third-fastest girls’s half-marathon runner in historical past and had completed seventh within the 10,000m on the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games and eighth on the 2025 World Athletics Championships. What remained to be seen was how that energy would carry over to the marathon.
Operating with two male pacemakers, Tesfay lined 10 km in 31:05 earlier than hitting the midway mark in 1:05:05. She remained regular because the race progressed, passing 30 km in 1:32:00.
A world-record try
Tesfay went into the race hoping to problem the ladies’s world document of two:09:56, set by Ruth Chepngetich in Chicago in 2024. Whereas she was nonetheless sustaining pace within the last phases of the race and handed the 40 km mark in 2:03:31, windy situations made it tough to carry on to that tempo till the end.
Even with out capturing the document, Tesfay’s consequence was historic. “Immediately was incredible—not what I used to be anticipating, however it’s good,” Tesfay mentioned via an interpreter post-race, in line with World Athletics.
For full outcomes of the 2026 Zurich Barcelona Marathon, head right here..
Races Close to You
Go to the Raceguide for a full checklist of occasions close to you.
