Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba wins the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a wild finish

On a windy marathon morning in Toronto, the women’s race came down to the wire, as four athletes, all of them from Ethiopia, finished within seven seconds of each other. Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba Kejela was quickest to the line, taking the win in 2:23:11–a five-minute personal best. 

Diriba was closely followed by 2023 Ottawa Marathon champion Waganesh Mekasha in second place (2:23:12) and Afera Godfay in third (2:23:15). This was the closest finish between a top three in the race’s history. The women were paced by Kingston, Ont.’s Kevin Coffey through 30K.

Fozya Jemal Amid was right on their heels, finishing fourth in 2:23:18 (a personal best); the U.S.’s Emily Durgin finished fifth in 2:26:46 in her debut marathon, nabbing herself a 2024 Olympic marathon qualifying time in the closest of margins. Durgin was the fastest North American finisher on the course, finishing three minutes ahead of her compatriot Molly Grabill. 

The women were within course record pace for most of the race, but the chilly wind on Toronto’s lakeshore took its toll, and the women’s course record of 2:22:16, set in 2019 by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai, remained intact.

Godfay, who held the fastest seed heading into the race, did not push the pace, never taking a turn at the front to block the wind. “I came here to win, and was upset not to,” said Godfay on her third-place finish. “More speed won at the end.”

At the post-race press conference, Diriba credited her track speed for her ability to separate from the four women in the final kilometre. (She has a personal best of 14:50 for 5,000m.) She came into Sunday’s marathon with a PB of 2:28:06 from the 2019 Houston Marathon. 

Pomerleau wins Canadian title

Caroline Pomerleau of Quebec was the surprise winner of the Canadian Marathon Championships, placing 10th overall in her marathon debut, in 2:34:44. 

Pomerleau’s goal heading into her first marathon was to run under 2:40. On the final corner, she overtook Anne-Marie Comeau, who had been leading the Canadian women for most of the second half of the race, beating her by seven seconds; Comeau finished as second Canadian, in 2:34:51. Tokyo Olympian Dayna Pidhoresky rounded out the Canadian women’s podium for third, finishing in 2:35:50.

posted Monday October 16th
by Marley Dickinson