Ethiopian athletes prevail at the Obudu Mountain Race
As the 7th edition of the Obudu International Mountain Race concluded in the Cross River State, Nigeria, on Monday, November 28, it was the Ethiopians who dominated the field for both the men’s and women’s contests.
In running competitions, Ethiopia and Kenya stand tall in front of all the others in the world. In the Obudu Mountain Race as well, the Ethiopian runners claimed the event for the third time in a row.
However, the only difference that prevailed this year was that, instead of a veteran, it was a young, 22-year-old runner, Mesfin Hunegnaew Alemu, who was in the limelight for the event.
With 135 runners contesting, Alemu outclassed all of them and hit the finish-line in an impressive 41 minutes and 50 seconds.
The second and the third positions were claimed by Atsedy Tsegay and Azmeraw Beke, who clocked 42 minutes and 12 seconds and 42 minutes and 30 seconds, respectively.
Interestingly, the showdown displayed by women was not that different from the one postulated by men. In the women’s race as well, the Ethiopians stole the show.
The conclusion of the race was somewhat expected. The top two positions on the podium were named by Ethiopian athletes, and the third one went to their traditional rivals from Kenya.
To secure the honour in the Obudu Mountain Race, Genet Ayalew, the 18-year-old outperformed 34 other athletes. She clocked 48 minutes and 45 seconds to finish the race first.
The second position in the race was claimed by Ayelewu Wuda Yimer. She clocked 49 minutes and 10 seconds in the event, while Margaret Wangari, from Kenya, finished her race 40 seconds later, and secured the third place.
The race, that virtually displayed a cut-throat competition among the athletes, offered significant cash prizes for the winners.
Giving an equal amount of money to men and women runners, the top of the podium finishers were awarded a hefty sum of US $50,000, while the second and third place finishers earned $20,000 and $9000, respectively.
The race culminated in offering African Mountain Running titles for the Ugandan athlete, Geofrey Kosuro, and the Nigerian runner, Dung Janet.
In the contest of continental finishers, it was Ondara Macdonald from Kenya, who otherwise finished for a fifth place in the meet, came second. The third place title was claimed by his countryman Thomas Ayeko.
Although most of the athletes lived up to the expectations of their spectators, however, the contest also observed some setbacks.
The biggest disappointment was the 18th place finish of the world’s number one, Ahmet Arslan from Turkey. But the main reason for him not living up to the mark was his arrival on the running venue just a few hours ahead of the commencement of
the event and, that too, after a tiring journey.
The race overall was quite an exciting source of entertainment for the spectators. As anticipated, the Ethiopians stole the show, followed by the Kenyans.
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