Press Release - Dubai Marathon - 1/27/14

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    Tsegaye Mekonnen Targets More Records on Dubai's Superfast Course

After smashing the world junior record in Friday's Standard Chartered 
DubaiMarathon the teenage sensation Tsegaye Mekonnen is eager to aim for 
more records. The 18 year-old won his debut in 2:04:32 and now intends to 
return to the Emirates for an attack on the world record next year. 

Tsegaye Mekonnen started proper training four years ago when he was still 
at school. Qualification for the World Junior Championships in Barcelona in 
2012 was a major breakthrough for him. He placed fifth in the 5,000 m 
final. These championships were a big motivation for me and a crucial 
factor in my career. Because after that I fully concentrated on running," 
said Tsegaye Mekonnen, who will use his prize purse of 200,000 Dollars to 
improve his living standards. "I want to buy a car so that I willl be able 
to drive to the training venue. Then I plan to buy a house." Mekonnen also 
hopes that the significant change in his financial situation will allow him 
to prepare better for his next marathon.

Although he ran his debut on Friday Mekonnen had been involved in the 
Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon 2013. "Last year I ran here as a 
pacemaker – that was when I decided that I wanted to come back and run the 
full distance. I knew it is a long way to the marathon, but I concentrated 
on training for my debut," recalls Tsegaye Mekonnen, who had unspectacular 
personal bests of 13:44.43 for 5,000 m  and 62:41 in the half marathon 
before now breaking the marathon world junior record. The international 
athletics federation IAAF does not officially list world junior records in 
the marathon, but in road running they are common.

"I could have run faster, but all of us in the leading group lost some 
energy during the first part of the race. This was because the pace changed 
so often. It seemed that the pacemaker was doing some kind of fartlek," 
said Tsegaye Mekonnen, who established himself as the eleventh fastest 
marathoner of all times, running the 14th fastest time ever and the third 
fastest debut (not counting results from Boston, where the course is not 
eligible for records). 

Haile Gebrselassie has been an athlete he admired when he was young. "Now I 
want to attack his Ethiopian record," said Tsegaye Mekonnen, who lives in 
Addis Abeba. "Next year I would very much like to come back to Dubai and go 
for the world record." While Gebrselassie's national best stands at 
2:03:59, Kenya's Wilson Kipsang broke the world record in Berlin last year 
with 2:03:23. 

Once again the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon has proved that its 
superflat course is perfect for very fast times. Especially in the past 
three editions a number of youngsters have made an instant impact in Dubai. 
"It is our aim to support young, promising athletes and give them an 
opportunity to perform really well. We will continue to do this," said 
Event Director Peter Connerton. 

Remarkably the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon has now seen eleven 
athletes breaking 2:05. No other marathon in the world can match this. Ten 
of these times have been achieved in the past three editions and most of 
them by young athletes. This of course raises the question of what would 
happen if athletes like Wilson Kipsang, Patrick Makau or Dennis Kimetto 
would compete in Dubai. But Peter Connerton thinks that his Dubai course 
"has the potential for a sub 2:03 time". 

Dubai's sub 2:05 list:

2:04:23    Ayele Abshero           ETH     2012
2:04:32    Tsegaye Mekonnen        ETH     2014
2:04:45    Lelisa Desisa           ETH     2013
2:04:48    Berhanu Shiferaw        ETH     2013
2:04:49    Tadese Tola             ETH     2013
2:04:50    Dino Sefir              ETH     2012
2:04:52    Endeshaw Negesse        ETH     2013
2:04:53    Haile Gebrselassie      ETH     2008
2:04:53    Bernard Koech           KEN     2013
2:04:54    Markos Geneti           ETH     2012
2:04:56    Jonathan Maiyo          KEN     2012

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