2022 was a very good year for us. On top of the highlights of our athletes’ performances below, we are extremely excited with the successful launch of the Elite Running Team. We aim for this to be one of the biggest, most successful and prestigious running teams in the World.
Sevilla Marathon, Spain
Mergertu Alemu got the year off to a great start at the Sevilla Marathon. Knocking almost 3minutes off her PB and winning the race in an impressive style with a huge course record, 2:18:51.
Tokyo Marathon
In only her second marathon of her career, Gotytom Gebreslase finished 3rd in a new PB of 2:18:18. Battling the tough weather conditions in Tokyo and performing at the highest level, while still finishing, at that point, the fastest time in her career, it was clear that she would be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years on the roads.
World Indoor Championships, Belgrade
We had an extremely successful World Indoor Championships. We walked away from the Championships with the top 2 podium places in the Men’s 3000m and a silver medal in the Men’s 800. Selemon Barega won the 3,000m in 7:41.38, closely followed by Lamecha Girma less than three-tenths of a second behind, and Noah Kibet left with a Silver medal over 800m.
Rome Marathon
We once again extended our winning streak in Rome. We took home the title in both men’s and women’s races, Sechale Dalasa won the women’s race and Fikre Bekele won the men’s. Additionally to add to an already perfect day, we swept the men’s podium with Fikre also running a course record.
World Championships – Eugene, Oregon
This year Eugene, Oregon hosted the first Track & Field World Championships on US soil. The marathon course ran adjacent to the famous Willamette river, looped through Springfield and back onto Pre’s Trail. With an outstanding performance Gotytom Gebreslase took home Gold in a Championship Record, 2:18:11.
All the track & field events took place inside the new Hayward Field Stadium. We also won a Silver medal in the 3,000m Steeplechase. Lamecha Gima followed up his Silver at the World Indoor Championships with a Silver in Eugene and his second World Outdoor Championship Silver medal in the Steeplechase. Another notable statistic to add to a World Medal for Lamecha is that he became only the second man in history to break 8-minutes three times in the Steeplechase in a single season. It has yet to be confirmed but since all three of these sub-8’s were conducted in the space of 10days, making this a record in itself.
Copenhagen Half Marathon, Denmark
After a winning debut in Houston early in the year, Milkesa Mengesha won his second half marathon of his career in outstanding fashion with a win in Copenhagen and dipping under 59mins. 58:58.
London Marathon
We had another podium finish with Megertu Alemu at the London Marathon, finishing 3rd in a career best 2:18:32. This marks Megertu’s second Top-8 finish in the London Marathon and her first Major Marathon podium.
Chicago Marathon
It was wonderful to to have Ruti Aga back competing at the top level again. After a two year break of battling some injury setbacks, Ruti arrived back with a vengeance finishing with 2:21:41 and an incredible 4th place.
New York Marathon
Shura Kitata finished 2nd in The Big Apple only 13seconds behind the winner. This adds to his impressive Major Marathons podiums, totaling 4; 1 win and 3 second places.
Rounding off her 3rd marathon of 2022, Gotytom finished 3rd in the New York City Marathon. This concluded an extremely successful year for her, never off the podium in marathon performances, topping the podium at the World Championships and taking home the World Marathon Majors Title for 2022.
