Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw made history in Hamburg running 2:17:23 for the fastest ever women’s marathon debut.
The 22-year-old won the Haspa Marathon Hamburg by almost nine minutes, breaking the Ethiopian record and German all-comers’ record, while just a second separated the top two in the men’s race. Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut clocked 2:04:47 to pip Uganda’s Stephen Kissa as the top four were all under the previous men’s course record of 2:05:30 set by Eliud Kipchoge in 2013.
Having broken the world 10km record with 29:14 in Castellon in February and with a half marathon best of 1:03:51 to her name, Yehualaw’s marathon debut was highly anticipated and she delivered in fine style.
Fast from the start, she ran with her male pacemakers through 10km in 32:39 and was on exactly 2:17 marathon pace through half way (1:08:30). Slowing only marginally in the second half, she went through 30km in 1:37:34 before running solo through 35km in 1:53:55 once her pacemakers had done their job.
The world half marathon bronze medallist continued on to eventually reach the finish line with 2:17:23 on the clock, well under the previous fastest ever women’s marathon debut time of 2:18:56 achieved by Paula Radcliffe in 2002.
The performance puts Yehualaw sixth on the women’s world marathon all-time list, topped by Brigid Kosgei’s world record of 2:14:04 set in 2019, and is the third-fastest time of the year so far.
She led an Ethiopian top three, with Fikrte Wereta and Bone Cheluke clocking respective times of 2:26:15 and 2:26:23, also on their marathon debuts.
“The race went well for me, considering this was my first marathon,” said Yehualaw. “The fast Hamburg course suited me and the spectators helped me a lot.”
Ethiopian Yalemzaf set fastest ever women’s marathon debut time
East Africa looking to bloom in time for World Cup
The main focus of African football will be on the vital home-and-away ties that will seal World Cup qualification. Preliminary qualifiers for the 2023 African Nations Cup will unsurprisingly go under the radar. But for CECAFA and others, the first step towards the African Nations Cup will be vital. And East Africa CECAFA sent only two representatives to the African Nations Cup.
Four CECAFA members will play in the March two-legged ties, a third of the entire confederation. Success in the preliminary matches will be vital to boosting East Africa’s chances at securing a bid.
Although there will be no East African representatives in the Qatar-hosted World Cup, federations can look forward to youth competitions. Bolstering the club sides competing in continent-wide competitions is also a must.
Even though the African Nations Cup may have been disappointing for CECAFA, the seeds of East African football are still ready to be planted. They will bloom soon with time, care, and the right amount of patience. If East Africa has all of those, you could see players like Wanyama and Kenyan legend and retired Inter player McDonald Mariga join European teams.
Countdown to 2022 Wanda Diamond League
In little more than two weeks’ time, the 2022 Wanda Diamond League will get under way in Doha as the Qatari capital hosts the 13th series of the sport’s premier one-day meetings.
Throughout the circuit, which spans five months and takes in 14 cities around the globe, the world’s best athletes will battle it out for a place in the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich on 7-8 September.
After the season opener in Doha on 13 May and a trip to Birmingham eight days later, athletes will have the chance to test out the host venue for the 2022 World Athletics Championships when the series arrives in Eugene on 28 May. The world’s best will then head to Rabat on 5 June, before returning to Europe for the rest of the month with meetings in Rome, Oslo, Paris and Stockholm.
Following the World Championships, the Wanda Diamond League will return to China for the first time since 2019, with the Shanghai Diamond League set for 30 July and a stop in Shenzhen, the newest addition to the series, on 6 August.
August will then see the series head to Monaco and Lausanne before the last series meeting in Brussels on 2 September. Those athletes who have earned enough points will then head to Zurich, where the 32 Wanda Diamond League champions will be crowned at a two-day season finale on 7-8 September.
Elsewhere in Birmingham, world and Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo faces two-time world indoor champion Ivana Vuleta in the long jump, while two-time world indoor champion Samuel Tefera takes on Olympic bronze medalist Josh Kerr over 1500m.
Didier Drogba lost Ivorian Football Federation Presidency
Businessman Idriss Diallo was elected Saturday as head of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), in an election in the capital Yamoussoukro where former star striker Didier Drogba was eliminated in the first round.
Mr. Diallo, a senior FIF official in the 2000s, received 63 votes against 61 for his rival in the second round, Sory Diabaté, another executive of the institution. In the first round, the two men had largely overtaken Didier Drogba who had collected only 21 votes out of 130.
Drogba has been criticized in recent weeks for not being conversant with local soccer and for having made a minimal campaign, without sufficiently campaigning on the ground.
It had been repeatedly postponed since 2020, because of a setback in the system of sponsorship of candidates that had then blocked the candidacy of Didier Drogba. FIF was placed under supervision in December 2020 by Fifa, which then installed a “Normalization Committee”.
The new president of the institution, a former leader of the largest national club Asec Mimosas from 1984 to 1998 will have the task of restoring Ivorian soccer back to its initial glory.
He will have to appoint a new national head coach since the contract with Patrice Beaumelle has not been renewed. Côte d’Ivoire did not qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 after it was eliminated in the AFCON quarter-finals in the last two competitions.
The country will host the next CAN from June 23 to July 23, 2023.
