LONDON, ENGLAND, April 26 — Olympic silver medalist Tigst Assefa proved to be the class of London’s premier field as the 28-year-old Ethiopian cruised to a 2:15:50 win. Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei ran with Assefa through 37K and finished 2nd in 2:18:44, with Paris marathon champ Sifan Hassan finishing 3rd in 2:19:00.
“When I crossed the line I felt extreme happiness,” Assefa proclaimed. “I really wanted to win today after Paris where I finished 2nd. I really trained hard, and this preparation has been over 8 months and I’m happy that it has paid off.”
Assefa not only claimed a redemptive victory but also trimmed 26 seconds off Peres Jepchirchir’s year-old women-only World Record, 2:16:16.
The women got off to a quick start rolling through the downhill opening 5K in 15:34 with Assefa, last year’s London runner-up, and 2021 London champ Jepkosgei clipping at the pacers’ heels. Crossing 10K in 31:16 London’s stellar field was already pared to four with Hassan and Ethiopian Alemu Megertu hanging on and last year’s champ Jepchirchir and World Record-holder Ruth Chepngetich not making it to the starting line.
Assefa was more than ready to run fast. She said, “The conditions today were really good as there was no wind. The pacemakers really pushed the pace early on, which really suited me, so I was really pleased with them.”
Not so pleased with her race was Hassan who had yo-yo-ed off the back of the lead group. “I really didn’t want to drop back, I’m in very good shape, but I found it really hard to breathe.”
The fast pace continued and Alemu was dropped at 16K with Hassan grinding away at a fall back/catch up fartlek. Her struggles were on Assefa’s mind. “I was thinking about Sifan and Paris. She is a keen opponent and she was on my mind until she dropped back.”
After closing within 3 seconds at 20K, Hassan quickly lost ground and was 10 seconds in arrears when Assefa and Jepkosgei crossed halfway in 66:40.
“It was hard today,” the 32-year-old Hassan admitted. “Every time I thought I could close the gap, my breathing got harder, and the gap just got bigger, and they worked really hard to get rid of me.”
With Hassan left behind and the final pacer retiring at 25K, suddenly it was just a two-woman race and still a long way to go.
Whether the duo traded the lead or ran side…
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