Tirunesh Dibaba, photo by runAustria.at
Tirunesh Dibaba is an iconic athlete. I have loved watching her in the World Champs and the Olympics. I have been lucky enough to see all her global medals since 2003. I have missed one marathon (2018).
How will she do in NN Mission Marathon Hamburg?
Tirunesh Dibaba will come to Hamburg in good shape, she does not just show up. She is tremendously competitive.
Just over a month to wait and see how much Tirunesh Dibaba wants to compete.
Tirunesh Dibaba set to compete in the NN Mission Marathon Hamburg
Tirunesh Dibaba, one of the greatest female distance runners of all-time, will feature at the elite women’s field at the NN Mission Marathon in Hamburg on April 11. The announcement that Tirunesh is set to compete is hugely exciting news as the endurance-running legend boasts a virtually unsurpassed record in the sport.
Tirunesh Dibaba, photo by Ethiosports.com
Tirunesh Dibaba set to compete in the NN Mission Marathon Hamburg
At the 2008 Beijing Games, the Ethiopian became the first woman in history to claim the 5000m and 10,000m Olympic double and four years later at the London Games she successfully retained her 10,000m crown. During an international career spanning 20 years, she has also won nine world titles and in more recent times has enjoyed an impressive marathon career.
Setting her marathon PB – which at the time was a national record – of 2:17:56 when second at the 2017 London Marathon, she has four top three placings at Marathon Majors – highlighted by victory in the 2017 Chicago Marathon.
Dibaba is delighted to come to the German city: “I’m looking forward to race in Hamburg. This is my first competition after giving birth to Allon last year. It’s an important race for me and I’m looking forward to finding out where I am in a race situation.”
The one-off marathon organised by Global Sports Communication, the NN Running Team and the Hamburg Marathon provides a much-needed opportunity for an Olympic qualification time. In these challenging times and with the road race calendar for the first half of 2021 decimated by the pandemic, Tirunesh and rest of the slate of top athletes will be seeking to secure selection to the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games.
Under the tagline ‘The fastest way to Tokyo’, the race will take place around a looped 10.5km city centre route. NN Group, the international financial services company, will be the title sponsor of this great event.
For more information and behind the scenes footage visit nnrunningteam.com/mission-
