Former Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon winners, Mamitu Daska and Mula Seboka, have confirmed their participation in the 2016 event, organisers have confirmed.
Daska, the 2010 winner, and 2014 champion Seboka will join fellow Ethiopian, and 2013 winner, Tirfi Tsegaye on the start line on January 22, meaning three of the past six winners will contend for this year’s title.
Since winning in Dubai in 2010, Daska has improved on her marathon personal best to 2h:21m:59s thanks to victory at the Frankfurt Marathon in 2011, while she also won the Half Marathon title at the All African Games in 2015.
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For Seboka, it will be a third straight appearance in Dubai. She followed her 2014 win with fifth place in 2015 with a personal best of 2h:21m:56s, and the 31 year-old is looking forward to the challenges of one of the flattest and quickest marathon routes in the world.
“Dubai is a very special marathon for me as I was champion in 2014 and I ran my personal best there in 2015,” Seboka said. “I want to come back to run even faster and my whole focus since Chicago has been my return to Dubai.”
Event Director Peter Connerton said that the Dubai Marathon is a powerful draw for the best in the business.
“Dubai is now well established as one of the premier race routes on the calendar, which means it is always high on the list of preferred venues for elite marathon runners,” he said. “Add in the five-star hospitality and typical Arabian hospitality afforded the athletes and it is easy to see why Dubai is a firm favourite with runners and agents alike.”
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