Worknesh Degefa

Worknesh Degefa (Amharic: ወርቅነሽ ደገፋ; born October 28, 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance road runner. As of April 2019, she is the fourth-fastest female marathoner in history,[2] based on her 2:17:41 run at the Dubai Marathon, January 25, 2019.[3] The winner of the race in Dubai was Ruth Chepngetich, who holds the third-best marathon time. Degefa had won Dubai in 2017 in 2:22:36. She returned in 2018 to run 2:19:53, finishing fourth behind three other Ethiopians,[4] all of whom achieved rankings in the top 25 of all time. It was the first time four women had run under 2:20 in the same race.[5] As of April 2019, she is also ranked just outside the top 25 in the half marathon,[6] running 1:06:14 at the Prague Half Marathon in 2016.[7]

Worknesh Degefa
Worknesh Degefa near the halfway point of the 2019 Boston Marathon, which she won.
Personal information
Full nameWorknesh Degefa
Born (1990-10-28) October 28, 1990[1]
Ethiopia
Sport
Country Ethiopia
SportAthletics
Event(s)Marathon, half marathon
Medal record
Gold medal – first place2017 DubaiMarathon
Gold medal – first place2019 BostonMarathon
Silver medal – second place2019 DubaiMarathon

On April 15, 2019, Degefa won the Boston Marathon in 2:23:31 in front-running fashion, by surging away from the field only 8 km into the race, despite never having seen the course before, even in training. By the 30 km mark, she had opened up an almost 3 minute lead over the chasers. Edna Kiplagat ran down Heartbreak Hill in an effort to catch Degefa, narrowing the gap to 42 seconds by the finish.[8]

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionNotes
2017 Dubai Marathon Dubai, United Arab Emirates 1st 2:22:36
Olomouc Half Marathon Olomouc, Czech Republic 1st[9] 1:09:19
2018 Dubai Marathon Dubai, United Arab Emirates 4th 2:19:53
Prague Half Marathon Prague, Czech Republic 3rd 1:08:10
2019 Dubai Marathon Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2nd 2:17:41
Boston Marathon Boston, United States 1st[10] 2:23:31

References
  1. "Worknesh Degefa Athlete Profile". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  2. "Marathon - women - senior - outdoor". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  3. Dubai Marathon Results Accessed 17 April 2019
  4. "Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2018". dubai.mikatiming.de. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  5. "Former champions Lemi Berhanu and Worknesh Degefa will be among the elite line-up at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon". mybestruns.com. 2019-01-10.
  6. "Half Marathon - women - senior - outdoor". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  7. "Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  8. "Worknesh Degefa Takes Off Early, Holds On Late to Win Her First Boston Marathon Title, Jordan Hasay 3rd, Des Linden 5th". LetsRun.com. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  9. "Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon - 21.0975 km 2017 (24. 6. 2017)". RunCzech. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  10. Hightower, Kyle (April 15, 2019). "Ethiopia's Worknesh Degefa cruises to Boston Marathon title". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
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