Haftu Teklu revalidates his victory and sets a new course record

– For second consecutive year, the Ethiopian athlete won and achieved a new record of the eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona stopping the clock in 59’06.

– For the female category, the Kenyan Margaret Kipkemboi won a great race, crossing the finish line in 1.05.26.

– More than 13,500 participants took part in a great day that had a 35% female participation.

03/04/2022- Barcelona has witnessed a great running festival with the celebration of the 32nd eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona, that this morning have reunited more than 13,500 runners and runners from all over the world. The course, organized by Ajuntament de Barcelona and RPM SPORTS, got the whole city together to support the runners and cheer on the participants, thanks to the twenty cheering stations distributed along the entire route.

With a temperature of 7ºC at 8.30h in the morning (race starting time), a humidity of 57% and a dark sky, the participants enjoyed the moments before the start feeling excitement and nerves at the same time. Also, accompanied with the melody of the Catalan musicians Llibert Fortuny and Mireia Farrés, who seasoned these previous moments with their saxophone and trumpet, respectively.

The elite: Haftu Teklu in the lead from the start to finish line

The forecasts did not fail this time and Haftu Teklu, the 27-year-old Ethiopian athlete who won the last edition, retained the title. With the help of a pacemaker, the leading group formed by Teklu, Titus Mbishei, Berhane Tesfay, Ali Chebures or Chala Regasa among others have overcome the km 5 of the race in 14’12. The same group passed km 10 with great strength in 27.54, seventeen seconds faster than they did for the last edition, already showing great possibilities of setting a new record. The leaders stayed together until km 15 in 41’54. At that moment, the pacemaker left them alone to face the last kilometres of the course. Finally, in a great sprint in the last stretch, Haftu Teklu won again, setting the fantastic time of 59.06, the new record of the eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona, 33 seconds faster than the previous record, achivied last year.

With this performance, Teklu gets the 9th best time of this season in this distance. The second position was for Chala Regasa, who finished in 59’10 and Elvis Cheboi completed the podium in 59’15.

For the women’s category, we have witnessed a great race because of the group formed by Margaret Kipkemboi and Gete Alemayehu. The Kenyan and Ethiopian runners, respectively, overcame the km 10 in 30.58, already ahead of their opponents, who were 33 seconds lower at this point. Kipkemboi took down Alemayehu at km 15 in 46.22, so the Kenyan finally finished in 1.05.26, the 2nd best female time of the Barcelona circuit and the 5th best time of this year in a half marathon. The female podium was completed by the Ethiopian runners Gete Alemayehu (1.06.37) and Asnakech Awoke (01.09.34).

Haftu Teklu: “It was a really nice race, the weather was ideal for running fast, I’m very happy. I have trained very hard to win in this circuit again. Barcelona is a lovely and wonderful city; I have felt the warmth and the support of the crowd from the beginning. It is a well-balanced course, with very fast areas. Next year I will repeat without any doubt”.

Margaret Kipkemboi: “I am super happy with this victory, in which I have managed, moreover, to establish a fantastic record in this distance. The course is very fast, and, despite the wind, I felt very comfortable. From the moment I arrived at this city, my dream was to win this race, so it has been a fantastic day. “