Kenya’s Toroitich wins Amsterdam Marathon

Kenya's Geofry Toroitich Kipchumba and Ethiopian Aynalem Desta won the 50th edition of the Amsterdam Marathon, which took place on Sunday, October 19, in the city of Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands.

Geofry Toroitich Kipchumba won the anniversary edition of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, setting a new course record of 2:03:30. This is the fourth-fastest marathon time of the year.

The 25-year-old Kenyan ran aggressively, smashing his personal best and beating the time set by Ethiopian Tamirat Tola (2:03:39).

In the women's race, Ethiopian Aynalem Desta took the win in 2:17:37.

The starting list included big names such as Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei and Gabriel Gaey. A new course record was expected. The fact that Kipchumba ultimately had the best legs came as a surprise. A large group stayed together until the halfway point along the Amstel, with a pacemaker still leading the way. They passed the course record right on time, after which the pace increased even further. A clear split ensued, but the favorites were still among them, and calm briefly returned to the group.

With the wind at his back, everything pointed to a record time. It wasn't until kilometer 33 that the battle really began: Gaey accelerated, closely followed by Cheptegei. Shortly after, Kipchumba broke away. He set off alone, unstoppable, and no one could keep up with him. He ran seven kilometers alone, continuing to fight for the course record.

The women's race remained exciting for a long time. After 30 kilometers, six Ethiopian athletes still had a chance of victory. Aynalem Desta and Bertukan Welde were the last to remain, with Desta ultimately proving the strongest, winning this special anniversary edition in 2:17:37, a considerable personal best (previous: 2:22:11). Her compatriot Welde also set a new personal best in 2:17:56, while another Ethiopian, Mekides Shimeles, finished third in 2:19:56.