Worknesh Degefa (; born October 28, 1990) is an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

long-distance road runner. , she is the fourth-fastest female marathoner in history, based on her 2:17:41 run at the Dubai Marathon, January 25, 2019.Dubai Marathon Results
Accessed 17 April 2019 The winner of the race in Dubai was Ruth Chepngetich, who holds the third-best marathon time. Degefa had won Dubai in 2017 in 2:22:36. She returned in 2018 to run 2:19:53, finishing fourth behind three other Ethiopians, all of whom achieved rankings in the top 25 of all time. It was the first time four women had run under 2:20 in the same race. , she is also ranked just outside the top 25 in the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

, running 1:06:14 at the Prague Half Marathon in 2016. On April 15, 2019, Degefa won the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

in 2:23:31 in front-running fashion, by surging away from the field only 8 km into the race, despite never having seen the course before, even in training. By the 30 km mark, she had opened up an almost 3 minute lead over the chasers.

Edna Kiplagat Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat (born 15 November 1979) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and New ...

ran down Heartbreak Hill in an effort to catch Degefa, narrowing the gap to 42 seconds by the finish.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Degefa, Worknesh Boston Marathon female winners Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners Living people 1990 births African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games silver medalists for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games 20th-century Ethiopian women 21st-century Ethiopian women