News04 Jan 2016


Former champions Daska and Seboka added to Dubai field

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Mulu Seboka winning at the 2014 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon (© Organisers / Giancarlo Colombo)

Former Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon women’s winners Mamitu Daska and Mula Seboka will return to the Emirate and contest this year’s race on 22 January, organisers of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race announced on Monday (4).

Daska and Seboka, winners in 2010 and 2014 respectively, will join their Ethiopian compatriot and 2013 Dubai champion Tirfi Tsegaye on the start line.

Since winning in Dubai, Daska has lowered her marathon personal best to 2:21:59, which she set when winning the Frankfurt Marathon in 2011.

In 2015, she concentrated on shorter distances and finished eighth at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships Guiyang 2015. She also won the half marathon title at the All African Games last summer. 

For Seboka, it will be a third straight appearance in Dubai. She followed her 2014 win with sixth place in 2015 and a personal best of 2:21:56.

“Dubai is a very special marathon for me as I was champion in 2014 and I ran my personal best there in 2015,” said Seboka, who went on to claim fifth place at the Chicago Marathon last October. “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 added: “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.”

Organisers for the IAAF