Deriba Merga wins 2006 Ethiopian 20km Champs (© Elshadai Negash)
Established marathon runners Deriba Merga and Dure Tune were the winners of the men’s and women’s races at the Ethiopian 20km Championships held in Sululta, a small town on the outskirts of Addis Ababa on Sunday (27).
The race, which doubled as a trial for the inaugural IAAF World Running Championships in Debrecen, Hungary (8 October) hit record numbers for an Ethiopian 20km race with 642 elite runners taking part.
MEN - Merga continues impressive season
Young runner Deriba Merga is proving one of the success stories of Ethiopian distance running this year and he further underlined his growing stature with a runaway victory on Sunday.
Running against some of Ethiopia’s more established half marathon and marathon runners, Merga took control of the race 2kms before the finish and never looked back crossing the finish line in 60.16 with Solomon Tsige, fifth in the World Half Marathon championships in New Delhi two years ago, edging Ethiopian championships 10,000m bronze medallist Tadesse Tola for second place.
“I am delighted with the result,” Merga said. “I felt that the competition was always going to be difficult, but I knew that once I took control of the race, it would be difficult to stop me.”
Merga burst onto the domestic running scene when finishing third in the 2005 TOYOTA Great Ethiopian Run last year. He ran well for the opening 25kms of the Boston Marathon in April this year, but pulled out due to stomach problems, although he returned to competition winning a 10km road race in the Ethiopian city of Nazreth.
In second, Solomon Tsige was even more satisfied with the outcome of the race that now guarantees him a place in Ethiopia’s team for Debrecen. “I had planned to run the 5000m at the African championships but I was injured,” he said. “I did not particularly train for this race and only competed because I had experience over the half marathon. This year will be my last 20km road competitions. I want to compete on the 5000m and the 10,000m.”
WOMEN - Tune destroys elite field
The starting field of 140 women was boosted by the inclusion of established names like former World indoor 1500m champion Kutre Dulecha, former World junior cross country champion Yemenashu Taye, and former World junior 3000m bronze medallist Etaferahu Tarekegne, but it was a relatively unknown name who emerged as the race winner.
Twenty-year old Dure Tuné may have finished third in this year’s Country Music Marathon in the US, but her commanding finish over the strong field in Sululta suggests that better days lay ahead for the Arsi-born runner.
Tuné tucked neatly behind a leading group of five runners who had split away from the rest from near the start, made her move at the 16km mark. Only Ashu Kassim was able to offer any kind of resistance to the Omedla-club runner, as Tuné easily pulled away to take victory in 70.30, thirteen seconds ahead of Kassim. Former Dubai marathon winner Mulu Seboka came home in third.
“I arrived at the competition venue very late and did not warm up properly before the race,” Tuné said after the race. “I trained particularly for this competition and the World [road running] championships. I am delighted with the win.”
Elshadai Negash for the IAAF
Ethiopian 20km Championships
MEN
1. Deriba Merga (Defense) 60.16
2. Solomon Tsige (St. George) 60.28
3. Tadesse Tola (Prisons) 60.35
4. Demesew Tsega (St. George) 60.43
5. Lishan Yegezu (St. George) 61.19
WOMEN
1. Dure Tuné (Omedla) 70.30
2. Ashu Kassim (Prisons) 70.43
3. Mulu Seboka (Muger Cement) 70.58
4. Teyiba Erkesso (Prisons) 71.09
5. Gishu Mendaye (Global) 71.28
