Ethiopian runners took both titles at the Bank of China Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Bridge Half Marathon on Sunday morning, November 15. Addisu Gobena (አዲሱ ጎበና) won the men’s race in 1:01:36, and Wede Kefale held on to win the women’s race in 1:09:01, according to the race results.
This was the first year the Hong Kong race carried World Athletics Platinum Label status, the top tier for road races, and it drew one of its strongest fields yet, including Tokyo Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega. It was Addisu who ran away with it. The 22 year old, who already won the Sydney Marathon earlier this year, led with fellow Ethiopian Aliyi Kasim for much of the race and then pulled clear. Aliyi, just 20, finished second in 1:02:32, with Kenya’s Alex Lenalepisho third.
Addisu also shared a fun piece of his story with Hong Kong reporters afterward. He started out as a javelin thrower before falling in love with running and switching events. Now he says his targets are world and Olympic gold, and he promised to come back to Hong Kong to defend his title.
The women’s race was much closer. Wede, who came in with a 1:05:21 personal best, won by only a few seconds from South Africa’s Glenrose Xaba after a hot, windy morning on the exposed bridge. Fantu Worku made it two Ethiopians on the women’s podium in third. Wede told local media the hills and the heat made it a tough race, but that she believed she would win from the start line because her training had gone so well.
For more Ethiopian road running history, see our list of Ethiopian marathon winners by year, and our Sifan Hassan career guide.
