Kenya’s Joshua Belet surprised race favourites by winning his first-ever marathon title at the 47th edition of the TCS Amsterdam marathon in the iconic Olympic Stadium in the Netherlands.
In the women’s category, Ethiopia’s Meseret Belete carried the day in 2:18:21, the third fastest time ever on the Amsterdam course. Back in the men’s race, the 25-year-old Belet won with an official time of 2:04:18, above the course record of 2:03:39 set by Ethiopian athlete Tamirat Tola in 2021 to lead a Kenyan 1-2-3 finish. Coming in second was Cybrian Kotut, with a time of 2:04:34 while Bethwel Chumba came third with a time of 2:04:37.
Belet, bounced back from his World Championships withdrawal to record a personal best, improving on the 2:04:33 he clocked when finishing second in Hamburg in April.
A large lead pack covered the opening 5km in 14:54, then sped up to reach 10km in 29:28 and 15km in 44:03.
The pack still contained about 12 men as they passed through 20km (58:48) and the halfway point (1:02:01), which was 10 seconds quicker than Tamirat Tola achieved when he set the course record of 2:03:39 in 2021.
Belet then took control of the race after the 30-kilometer mark with a burst of speed that was too powerful for everyone to follow. The lead pack started to whittle down gradually in the second half. After going through 30km in 1:28:28, Belet made his move and opened up a gap on the rest of the field, one he wouldn’t relinquish.
He completed the race solo, crossing the finish line in the Olympic Stadium while fellow Kenyan Kotut came through to take second place finishing just three seconds ahead of Chumba, who completed the all-Kenyan podium.
Belet had clinched second place in the Hamburg marathon in April with a time of 2:04:33. Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese was a close fourth in 2:04:44. In the women’s race, Belete maintained a remarkably consistent pace throughout, and for most of the way, she ran alongside compatriots Meseret Abebayehu and Ashete Bekere, as well as Kenya’s Dorcas Tuitoek.
By 30km, reached in 1:38:08, there were just four women left in the lead pack – Belete, Abebayehu, Tuitoek, and Bekere. They ran together for a further 10 minutes or so, and then Belete started to forge a lead.
Belete’s time was above the course record of 2:17:20 set by Ethiopian Almaz Ayana last year. Meseret Abebayehu, also from Ethiopia, came in second with a time of 2:19:50. Kenyan Tuitoek secured the third position, finishing at 2:20:02.
