Worknesh Degefa near the halfway point of the 2019 Boston Marathon, which she won.
Personal information
Full name
Worknesh Degefa
Born
(1990-10-28) October 28, 1990 (age 33)[1] Ethiopia
Sport
Country
Ethiopia
Sport
Athletics
Event(s)
Marathon, half marathon
Medal record
2017 Dubai
Marathon
2019 Boston
Marathon
2019 Dubai
Marathon
Worknesh Degefa (Amharic: ወርቅነሽ ደገፋ; born October 28, 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance road runner. As of April 2019[update], she is the fourth-fastest female marathoner in history,[2] based on her 2:17:41 run at the Dubai Marathon, January 25, 2019.[3] The winner of the race in Dubai was Ruth Chepngetich, who holds the third-best marathon time. Degefa had won Dubai in 2017 in 2:22:36. She returned in 2018 to run 2:19:53, finishing fourth behind three other Ethiopians,[4] all of whom achieved rankings in the top 25 of all time. It was the first time four women had run under 2:20 in the same race.[5] As of April 2019[update], she is also ranked just outside the top 25 in the half marathon,[6] running 1:06:14 at the Prague Half Marathon in 2016.[7]
On April 15, 2019, Degefa won the Boston Marathon in 2:23:31 in front-running fashion, by surging away from the field only 8 km into the race, despite never having seen the course before, even in training. By the 30 km mark, she had opened up an almost 3 minute lead over the chasers. Edna Kiplagat ran down Heartbreak Hill in an effort to catch Degefa, narrowing the gap to 42 seconds by the finish.[8]
^"Worknesh Degefa Athlete Profile". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
^"Marathon - women - senior - outdoor". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
^"Former champions Lemi Berhanu and Worknesh Degefa will be among the elite line-up at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon". mybestruns.com. 2019-01-10.
^"Half Marathon - women - senior - outdoor". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
^"Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon". IAAF. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
^"Worknesh Degefa Takes Off Early, Holds On Late to Win Her First Boston Marathon Title, Jordan Hasay 3rd, Des Linden 5th". LetsRun.com. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
WorkneshDegefa (Amharic: ወርቅነሽ ደገፋ; born October 28, 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance road runner. As of April 2019[update], she is the fourth-fastest...
metres world junior champion Hilina Berhanu Degefa (born 1992), Ethiopian women's rights activist WorkneshDegefa (born 1990), Ethiopian long-distance runner...
Lawrence Cherono won in 2:07:57. The elite women's race was won by WorkneshDegefa, who took an early lead and built up a large gap between herself and...
Kiplagat Kenya 2:21:52 2018 Desiree Linden United States 2:39:54 2019 WorkneshDegefa Ethiopia 2:23:31 2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; "virtual...
Kingdom 59:32 Rose Chelimo Kenya 1:08:22 2014 Bedan Karoki Kenya 59:58 WorkneshDegefa Ethiopia 1:08:46 2013 Bernard Koech Kenya 59:54 Edna Kiplagat Kenya...
Marathon Dubai Marathon Dubai United Arab Emirates Tamirat Tola (ETH) WorkneshDegefa (ETH) 12 February Gold Marathon Hong Kong Marathon Hong Kong China...
Boston Marathon (WMM #2) International Men: Lawrence Cherono Women: WorkneshDegefa 15–21 Tennis 2019 Monte-Carlo Masters International Fabio Fognini 18–21...
had never run a marathon race before. Also racing were Des Linden, WorkneshDegefa, and Ruti Aga, the respective winners of the 2018, and 2019 Boston...
Mengistu (f) January 20: Dubai Marathon Winners: Tamirat Tola (m) / WorkneshDegefa (f) February 12: Hong Kong Marathon Winners: Melaku Belachew (m) Gulume...
(f) April 15: 2019 Boston Marathon Winners: Lawrence Cherono (m) / WorkneshDegefa (f) April 28: 2019 London Marathon Winners: Eliud Kipchoge (m) / Brigid...
Global Information
Ethiopia
