Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba wins the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a wild finish
The women's elite race was the closest in race history, with the top four finishing in the space of seven seconds
Photo by:
Todd Fraser/Canada Running Series
On a windy marathon morning in Toronto, the women’s race came down to the wire, as four athletes, all of them from Ethiopia, finished within seven seconds of each other. Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba Kejela was quickest to the line, taking the win in 2:23:11–a five-minute personal best.
Diriba was closely followed by 2023 Ottawa Marathon champion Waganesh Mekasha in second place (2:23:12) and Afera Godfay in third (2:23:15). This was the closest finish between a top three in the race’s history. The women were paced by Kingston, Ont.’s Kevin Coffey through 30K.
🏆 Celebrating Women's Marathon Excellence! 🏆
A thunderous applause for Buze Diriba Kejela of Ethiopia, who clinched the women's title at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a remarkable time of 2:23:11! #TOwaterfront42k #WomensRaceChampion 🌟🏃♀️🇪🇹 pic.twitter.com/6bv8vK2yXs
— TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon (@TOwaterfront42k) October 15, 2023
Fozya Jemal Amid was right on their heels, finishing fourth in 2:23:18 (a personal best); the U.S.’s Emily Durgin finished fifth in 2:26:46 in her debut marathon, nabbing herself a 2024 Olympic marathon qualifying time in the closest of margins. Durgin was the fastest North American finisher on the course, finishing three minutes ahead of her compatriot Molly Grabill.
The women were within course record pace for most of the race, but the chilly wind on Toronto’s lakeshore took its toll, and the women’s course record of 2:22:16, set in 2019 by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai, remained intact.
Godfay, who held the fastest seed heading into the race, did not push the pace, never taking a turn at the front to block the wind. “I came here to win, and was upset not to,” said Godfay on her third-place finish. “More speed won at the end.”
At the post-race press conference, Diriba credited her track speed for her ability to separate from the four women in the final kilometre. (She has a personal best of 14:50 for 5,000m.) She came into Sunday’s marathon with a PB of 2:28:06 from the 2019 Houston Marathon.
Pomerleau wins Canadian title
Caroline Pomerleau of Quebec was the surprise winner of the Canadian Marathon Championships, placing 10th overall in her marathon debut, in 2:34:44.
Pomerleau’s goal heading into her first marathon was to run under 2:40. On the final corner, she overtook Anne-Marie Comeau, who had been leading the Canadian women for most of the second half of the race, beating her by seven seconds; Comeau finished as second Canadian, in 2:34:51. Tokyo Olympian Dayna Pidhoresky rounded out the Canadian women’s podium for third, finishing in 2:35:50.
Top 10 women
- Buze Diriba Kejela ETH 2:23:11
- Waganesh Mekasha ETH 2:23:12
- Afera Godfay ETH 2:23:15
- Fozya Jemal Amid ETH 2:23:18
- Emily Durgin USA 2:26:46
- Molly Grabill USA 2:29:45
- Meseret Gebre ETH 2:29:54
- Molly Bookmyer USA 2:30:37
- Gada Bontu Bekele ETH 2:31:33
- Caroline Pomerleau CAN 2:34:44 (debut, Canadian Marathon Champion)
For our coverage of the Canadian Marathon Championships, click here. For our coverage of the men’s elite race, click here.
You can view the full results from the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon here.
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