Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay Runs Second-Fastest Women’s Marathon in History at Barcelona
Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay made a stunning marathon debut at the Zurich Barcelona Marathon on Saturday, finishing with a time of 2:10:53 — the second-fastest women’s marathon ever recorded.
The 28-year-old came just 57 seconds behind Ruth Chepngetich’s 2024 world record of 2:09:56 set in Chicago, while also breaking the Ethiopian national record and registering the fastest marathon debut in history. Tesfay dominated the race, winning by nearly eight minutes over Kenya’s Joan Jepkosgei Kiplimo (2:18:42), with Ethiopia’s Zeineba Yimer taking third in 2:18:49.
Tesfay targeted Chepngetich’s world record throughout the race, reaching the halfway mark in 1:05:05, 30 kilometers in 1:32:00, and 40 kilometers in 2:03:31. “My plan was to attack the world record, but today there was a lot of wind,” Tesfay said through an interpreter. “I was not able to push in the last part of the race. Today I did not succeed, but in the next marathon I would like to try for the world record.”
This performance marks a remarkable transition for her, who was previously the third-fastest women’s half marathon runner in history and competed in the 10,000 meters at the Paris 2024 Olympics (7th place) and Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships (8th place).
The Barcelona Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, showcased Tesfay’s breakthrough and positioned her as a major contender for the women’s marathon world record in upcoming events.
2026 Barcelona Marathon Women’s Top Results:
- Fotyen Tesfay (ETH) – 2:10:51
- Joan Jepkosgei Kiplimo (KEN) – 2:18:42
- Zeineba Yimer (ETH) – 2:18:49
- Chaltu Chimdesa Kumsa (ETH) – 2:23:32
- Yalganesh Eskamech Gedefa (ETH) – 2:24:05