At the age of 29 Limenih Getachew has plenty of experience in the marathon. The classic distance has always been his favourite event. Even for African elite runners it is very uncommon to come to the European road racing circuit for the first time and start their international career with a marathon debut.
This is exactly what Getachew did back in 2012. He ran very well when he clocked 2:07:39 in Cologne for second place. He slightly improved in the following year and then ran his current personal best of 2:06:49 in Paris in 2014 finishing second once more. Getachew had one below par year so far: In 2017 he ran in Dubai for the first time and finished ninth in 2:11:16, then he dropped out of the Hamburg Marathon in spring.
He was back in 2018 winning the Lisbon Marathon in 2:07:34 – though that was on a short course – and showed solid performances in 2019.
29
Ethiopia
2:06:49
(2nd, Paris, 2014)