2023 Houston Marathon: Breathtakingly close finishes in the men’s races

Both the 2023 Houston Half Marathon and Houston Marathon men’s races brought fans a thrill on Sunday with incredibly close leading runners sprinting right down to the last second.

Men’s Half Marathon

Ethiopian runner Leul Gebresilase Aleme, 30, took the overall win in 60:34, fighting it out right until the finish, winning the race in a sprint (resulting in a photo-finish) to edge out runner-up Kenya’s Wesley Kiptoo, 23, by less than a second (final time recorded as 60:35).

The pair were part of a men’s leading pack that hung together until the last few kilometres, when they broke away and began picking up the pace. Aleme has had a phenomenal breakout season, finishing second at the 2022 London Marathon in October.

Great observation by Des Linden: men's half leader Wesley Kiptoo isn't wearing gloves anymore. This is a guy who wears gloves in every race, indoors or out, so you know it's getting serious!

Less than 5k to go… pic.twitter.com/PUG85traa7

— Jonathan Gault (@jgault13) January 15, 2023

Ben Preisner was the top Canadian finisher in the men’s race, running to 13th place in 62:42. “A small PB, I’m happy,” Preisner shared post-race. I had a bit of a rough patch about 7 miles in so I eased it back to about 3 minutes (pace/km). Then I recovered and got in with a good group.”

Non-binary Half Marathon results

An American trio took the podium in the non-binary genderqueer category, with Sam Bruns breaking the tape in 1:24:30. Bruns was followed by Winter Parts in 1:26:55, and Andrea Werth in 1:55:20.

Chevron Houston Marathon men’s results

Kenyan runner Dominic Ondoro leaned to a win in 2:10:36 in what was the closest battle to the finish line at the Houston Marathon since 1996. Ondoro narrowly beat Ethiopia’s Tsedat Ayana to claim the victory, while Ayana ran to 2:10:37.

This is Ondoro’s second Houston Marathon win, and he won the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon in June. Teshome Mekonen (formerly of Ethiopia, now American) took third place and top American finish in 2:11:05.

Photo finished all around in Houston today as Dominic Ondoro wins the 2023 @HoustonMarathon by 1 second in 2:10:37 🔥

Teshome Mekonen is the top American in 3rd in 2:11:05. pic.twitter.com/m835sCCVTN

— CITIUS MAG (@CitiusMag) January 15, 2023

Non-binary Marathon results

American runner Katy Price was the only competitor in the marathon’s non-binary category and finished in 4:19.52.

For a full list of results, head here.