Ethiopian runners take top prizes in Ottawa

In the men’s race, Ethiopian runners took the top four spots. Yihunilign Adane came first with a time of 2:08:22. (Last year, Adane also won the TSC Toronto Waterfront Marathon.) Gebretsadik Abraha came second in 2:09:13 and Abdi Ali Gelchu finished 3rd with a time of 2:10:38. New Brunswick’s Lee Wesselius was the top Canadian, finishing in 2:18:26.

Ethiopia’s Waganesh Mekasha was the fastest woman at today’s Tartan Ottawa International Marathon – running alone for most of the second half of the race – finishing in 2:24:47. Canada’s Malindi Elmore overtook Germany’s Melat Kejata in the home stretch to capture 2nd place, with a time of 2:27:44. Kejata finished 3rd in 2:27:50.

Mekasha and Adane will both take home CAD 30,000 (20,500 EUR) for their first place finishes. Elmore will receive CAD 15,000 (10,290 EUR) for her second place finish as well as CAD 5,000 (3,430 EUR) as the top Canadian woman.

“We curated a really top-notch field again this year. We had amazing African athletes, 11 Japanese runners, some Europeans and some new Canadian talent that has the possibility to be truly great one day,” says Ian Fraser, Run Ottawa’s Executive Director and Race Director. “I’m feeling really good about how it all went this year.”

It was the 49th year the marathon has been held in Ottawa. Since it started back in 1975, more than half a million runners from around the globe have participated in Ottawa’s race weekend. The marathon is a World Athletics Elite Label Race and one of Canada’s largest Boston qualifiers.

This year, the 42 km course started at Ottawa City Hall, taking runners along the famous Rideau Canal and around Dow’s Lake, before crossing the Champlain Bridge into Gatineau. Runners then returned back into Ottawa over the Alexandria bridge, through New Edinburgh, to an exciting finish in front of thousands of cheering spectators on Queen Elizabeth Drive.

Although he may have not been one of the top finishers, Cornwall’s Wendell Lafave completed his 200th marathon in a time of 5:08:14. Lafave is a two-time member of the 50 States Marathon Club and six-star medal holder, having completed the six major marathons around the world.