UAE pair ready to battle it out in 10km event at Dubai Marathon
Aliah and Betlhem fresh from stunning one-two at Arab Games
Dubai Fresh f rom a stunning one-two f inish at the Arab Games in Doha, UAE runners Aliah Saeed Mohammad and Betlhem Belayneh Deslagn will have more gold i n sight when they star in the 10km race at the Standard Chartered Du b a i Mara t h o n n e x t week.
The two UAE stars will be red- hot favourites i n the January 27 event foll ow i n g t h e i r b r i l l i a n t medal-winning performances in Doha.
Aliah came home j ust over a second faster than teammate Betlhem to win a gold medal for the UAE in the women’s 5,000 metres.
First and second
It wasn’t the f irst time the two have slugged it out at the front of a high-profile race.
The pair f i nished f i rst and second in the women’s 10km race at l ast year’s marathon, with Betlhem taking gold on that occasion from a f ield of 8,000 r u n n e r s t h a t i n c l u d e d around 3,000 women.
Betlhem, who also won a bronze medal i n t he 1 , 5 00m i n Doha, edged out her compatriot to win by 14 seconds i n 33 min- utes, seven seconds, with Ethiopia’s Belainesh Yami Gurmu nearly two minutes further adrift in third place.
“To win gold and silver in Doha was a fantastic achievement, so we are delighted that the two girls will be competing again in the 10km race on January 27,” said event director Peter Connerton.
Competition fierce
“The marathon is obviously the star attraction, but competition i n t he 10km is always fierce.
“Last year we had 8,274 competitors in the 10km, with 35 per cent of them female runners.” To be staged under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-president and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon will also feature a 3km fun run, which start from outside The Pavilion in Downtown Dubai, opposite the Burj Khalifa.
Runners looking to compete in the marathon, the 10km or the 3km fun run can still register online at www.dubaimarathon.org