Aga, Shone and Burka lead eves’ elites at 2023 Dubai Marathon

Shabab Al Ahli made it 5-1 when Harib Abdalla Suhail picked up the ball on the right flank and skipped past two defenders before sending a low cross into the six-yard box, where Doumbia met with a clinical finish

a penalty spot ater stepping up and stroking the ball into the top corner to make it 4-1 in the stoppage time of the first half. Ajman are now sixth with 26 points, while Al Nasr sit twelth with 11 points.

Meanwhile, Al Ain coach Sergiy Rebrov urged his player not to get carried away with their result in their previous game against Al Dhafra.

The head coach of the Boss squad added: “It is important to draw a blank over the result of our first leg home match against Al Dhafra as it will be completely different considering it will be held in Al Dhafra and they have a new head coach.”

He also stated that regardless of Al Dhafra’s place on the standing, it is expected that the match would be intense.

“I watched several matches of the opponent, and I believe that they are significantly improving, and the squad players enjoy high levels of aggressiveness. We have to play seriously and focus on the players’ recovery programs,” he said.

Commenting on the news reports stating that Al Ain’s match against Al Dhafra will be an easy mission, he said: “There is no easy match for Al Ain Team. However, any match will be easy if the players enjoy high concentration levels and properly fulfill their defensive and offensive tasks.

“In this case, we could easily achieve a positive result in terms of score, and ater the match, we could decide whether it is an easy match or not.”

Rebrov stressed that the Al Ain squad had not played any easy match so far, considering that the next game will be held at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Dhafra City.

DUBAI: Ethiopian elites dominate the entry list in the women’s competition for the 2023 Dubai Marathon with Ruti Aga and compatriots Gutemi Shone and Gelete Burka all targeting the biggest Marathon in the Middle East on Feb.12.

Twenty-nine-year-old Aga is the athlete with the fastest personal best in the field having clocked 2:18:34 when finishing second in the Berlin Marathon in 2018. Last year, the Ethiopian – who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2019 – claimed fourth in Chicago and will certainly be one to watch.

But while Aga, with three Marathon Majors medals to her name, has an impressive pedigree, her compatriot Shone knows exactly what to expect in Dubai having finished second last time she competed in the UAE in January 2020 – the last time the Dubai Marathon was staged before the pandemic.

That runner-up spot behind champion Worknesh Degefa was achieved with a personal best of 2:20:11 and the 31-year-old, who finished fith last year in Seoul, will be looking to use that ‘local knowledge’ to go one place beter on the podium on the race’s return to the sporting calendar.

Also returning to the Middle East with experience of running in the Gulf is 37-year-old Gelete Burka. In 2018, Burka enjoyed a successful year starting off with sixth place and a personal best in Dubai (2:20:45) before winning the Otawa Marathon in Canada and closing the year with third place and a podium finish in Abu Dhabi.

A hugely talented runner, in 2019 Burka added victory in the Paris Marathon and third place in Chicago to an impressive running CV that also includes World Championship medals and a 5,000m top five finish at the London Olympics in 2012.

Held under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council, the Dubai Marathon will see the World Athletics Gold Label race finally return to the sporting calendar with a mixed elite field combining highly experienced international race winners with raw talent keen to make a mark in the early years of their careers.

“Over the years we’ve enjoyed some breathtaking performances from marathon debut makers as well as experienced campaigners,” said Dubai Marathon Event Director Peter Connerton.

“Athletes know that with the world-class infrastructure and benign weather conditions in Dubai, they can run a personal best and gain international recognition.”

Runners who have yet to register and who would like to compete in the Marathon, the 10km Road Race or 4km Fun Run can still register up until Feb.11 only at the official website.

The biennial event is a regular feature of the Dubai sporting calendar. It draws some of the biggest names of the sports. Thousands of denizens also take part in the event, which promotes a healthy life style through sporting activities.