Dibabe Kuma Lema

Dibabe Kuma is still relatively new to the marathon. The 23 year-old has only run the classic distance on two occasions. Both of these races were excellent.

Kuma ran her debut in Ljubljana in 2018 when she achieved a credible time of 2:23:34. Last spring she took the Hamburg Marathon with a dominant performance in difficult weather conditions. Wet and chilly weather caused many runners to drop out because of muscle problems, including Kuma’s pacemakers!

But despite this the Ethiopian was in the lead from start to finish and clocked 2:24:41, celebrating her biggest career win. The race in Hamburg indicates that she should be able to run much faster than her personal best in good conditions on the flat Dubai course. Her PB in the half marathon also suggests this. Little less than a year ago she was second in the Barcelona half marathon with 66:45.

Age

23

Country

Ethiopia

Best Time

2:23:34

(3rd, Ljubljana, 2018 )