Andualem Shiferaw breaks course record to win the Ottawa Marathon
Justin Kent of Vancouver ran a negative split to achieve a personal best time of 2:13:33 and top Canadian honours
Victah Sailer, PhotoRun
On a sunny Sunday morning in the nation’s capital, Andualem Shiferaw of Ethiopia ran a new course record time of 2:06:03 to win the 2022 Ottawa Marathon. Shiferaw smashed the previous record, held by Ethiopia’s Yemane Tsegay at 2:06:54.
Shiferaw, who had the fastest personal best heading into the race (2:05:52), went out with the lead group of six runners. The group went through half in 1:03:53, which turned out to be a bit slow for the 30-year-old Ethiopian. At the 25K mark, Shiferaw put on a surge and created a gap on the field.
Once he hit the 30 km mark, race organizers knew they would be witnessing a course-record performance from Shiferaw. Once he crossed the finish line, Shiferaw did not stop running, doing a victory lap and high-fiving fans who were on hand to witness his performance. Abdi Ali Gelchu of Bahrain was the second runner to finish, in 2:09:23, while Yuta Shimoda from Japan was third, in 2:09:49.
Shiferaw earned C$24,000 for winning the race and an additional $10,000 for breaking the course record. His win in Ottawa was his fifth win in his last seven marathons. Shiferaw sported the 2021 Nike pro kit for the marathon, despite being dropped for 2022.
Justin Kent of Vancouver was the first Canadian to finish, in a new personal best time of 2:13:33. Kent shook almost four minutes off his previous best of 2:17:22 from the Marathon Project, which he ran in 2020. “I am over the moon about my performance,” Kent says. “I haven’t even come to terms with what I have accomplished yet.”
“Being the first Canadian was the big goal,” Kent says. “I owe my training partner (Ben Preisner) a few beverages for helping me out on the course.” Preisner paced Kent through 30K in an hour and 35 minutes.
“I got a taste of Ottawa Race Weekend in 2019 when I competed in the 10K championships,” Kent says. “I knew I had to return to experience the atmosphere for the marathon.”
Kent mentioned he will be taking a down week before ramping up again with his coach Richard Lee for a few summer and fall races.
Here are the full results from the 2022 Ottawa Marathon.
