Joshua Belet is the 2023 winner of the Amsterdam Marathon after a dominant show on Sunday, October 15, 2023.

This is a huge win for the 25-year-old, who could not fully participate in the World Athletics Championship as he did not finish the race in August.

The win in the Netherlands means Belet’s year is set to end on a high note given that he made his marathon debut early in the year at the Haspa Marathon, where he came in second in 2:04:33.

Meanwhile, apart from winning the Amsterdam showdown, Belet posted his personal best after completing the race in 2:04:18. Cyprian Kotut was second in 2:04:34, while Bethwel Chumba finished third with a personal best of 2:04:37.

Koech withdraws

Although the Kenyans swept the podium finish, it was a day to forget for Bernard Koech, who withdrew after covering some kilometres.

Koech was one of the pre-race favourites as he came to Amsterdam after impressive performances in the Haspa Marathon, where he came first and was second at the Compenhagen’s half marathon.

Belet showed an intense desire to win the title as he led for the better part of the race. The 25-year-old opened a considerable gap after the 20km mark, and at that time, the Ethiopian unit, comprising Gizealew Ayana and Birhanu Legese, was ambitiously chasing from behind.

Kotut and Lemi Berhanu were also not far from Belet, who was ahead of his closest rivals by over 40m.

Ayana’s pace slowed towards the 30km mark as Belet kept surging forward with considerable speed, with Kotut and Legese not relenting.

Legese’s last-minute attempt to overtake Belet was not successful, as the Kenyan showed no intention of slowing down at all.

In the end, Legese could not even manage a podium finish as the Kenyan unit proved too strong to beat. The Ethiopian finished in the fourth position in 2:04:44.