Dubai Marathon title comes early for Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu Hayle

With a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 28 seconds, Lemi Berhanu Hayle won the Dubai Marathon on Friday.

Lemi Berhanu Hayle of Ethiopia celebrates after winning the Dubai Marathon on Friday. Stephen Hindley / AP / January 23, 2015

DUBAI // As the question was translated into his native Amharic, even those not familiar with the Ethiopian language were able to decipher the moment when the magic words were said.

Lemi Berhanu Hayle had just won the Dubai Marathon yesterday morning, smashing his personal best time by more than five minutes, and he had been asked on what he might elect to spend the US$200,000 (Dh735,000) prize money.

As the translator spoke and the 20-year-old runner listened, a face of formality and focus turned, like a switch, to a smile as wide as the asphalt course he had just circumnavigated in two hours, five minutes and 28 seconds.

“My dream was to win the Dubai Marathon, but I did not expect it to be this year,” he said, grinning.

“I did it, so am very happy – to win is great. I did not expect it, though, and have not thought about the money: $200,000 is too much – I’ll decide when I get home.”

Hayle, winner of last year’s Zurich Marathon, crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Lelisa Desisa, the 2013 winner, but his winning time was the slowest on record at Dubai’s annual marathon since 2011 and more than two minutes off the world record.

Much of the talk leading up to yesterday’s 42.2-kilometre event had been about Kinenisa Bekele, the 5,000 metres and 10,000m world record holder who was making his Dubai

debut.

The Ethiopian faded, though, at the 30km mark and eventually stopped at 36km.

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