Ethiopian trio headline women’s field at Haspa Marathon Hamburg
Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 07.03.26. | 15:35
The trio is gunning for the course record of 2:17:23 set in 2022 by Yalemzerf Yehualaw
A strong Ethiopian trio will head the women’s elite field of the 40th Haspa Marathon Hamburg on Sunday, 26 April.
Tigist Ketema, Degitu Azimeraw and Sichala Kumeshi are on the start list of Germany’s biggest spring marathon race.
Ethiopian women have produced the two fastest times ever in the history of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. In 2022, Yalemzerf Yehualaw smashed the course record with 2:17:23, and last year Workenesh Edesa came relatively close to that mark when she won the race with 2:17:55.
Fellow Ethiopians Ketema, Azimeraw and Kumeshi will be eager to add another major Ethiopian victory to the story of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg.
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Ketema achieved a remarkable breakthrough two years ago. Running her debut at the Dubai Marathon in January 2024, she took the prestigious race with a world-class time and a course record of 2:16:07.
This was an unofficial world debut record, and Ketema became the eighth-fastest marathon runner ever at that time.
Later that year, she went on to win the Berlin Marathon with 2:16:42. In 2025, she competed at the World Championships’ marathon in Tokyo.
However, the Ethiopian did not finish in hot and humid conditions. After a disappointing year, the 27-year-old will be eager to bounce back in Hamburg.
On her part, Azimeraw has shown great consistency at a very high level during her marathon career. The 27-year-old won her debut marathon as well, clocking a sub-2:20 in Amsterdam in 2019 (2:19:26). Since then, she has achieved sub-2:20 times on three more occasions.
Azimeraw ran her best race in London in 2021, when she was runner-up with a personal best of 2:17:58. After giving birth, the 27-year-old returned to the marathon in 2024 and won in Barcelona with 2:19:52.
Elsewhere, Kumeshi will have the advantage of knowing the course of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. In 2023, she ran 2:26:53 here, but it was a year ago when the 30-year-old achieved a breakthrough in Hamburg. She was third last April and broke 2:20:00 for the first time in her career with 2:19:53.
While this remains her PB at the marathon, she has opened her 2026 campaign with a fine personal best at the half-marathon. Kumeshi clocked 66:53 in Houston in January, which will make her confident for her third race at the Haspa Marathon Hamburg.
