Adere and Wami - Veterans rekindle Ethiopian marathon hopes

[Ryan]

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Berhane Adere and Gete Wami, two Ethiopian distance running greats, aged 34 and 33 respectively, head towards 2007 in confident mood after becoming the first Ethiopian women to win major city marathons since Derartu Tulu’s victory in the 2001 London Marathon.

In Los Angeles in March, Wami returning from a disappointing two-year injury hiatus took second place in the marathon in 2:25:26. The following month Adere making her serious debut in London smashed Wami’s four-year old national marathon record (2:22:20) with a 2:21:52 time for fourth place. Then in the autumn, Wami bounced back to win the Berlin Marathon in September and so temporarily regained her Ethiopian record with 2:21:24, only for Adere to recapture it in Chicago with a clinically taken victory in 2:20.47.

The stories of both runners offer some striking similarities. Both are coached by their husbands and have used past disappointments as a driving force to excellent 2006 seasons.

IAAF article