Valencia Marathon 2024 Results: Kenya's Sebastian Sawe and Ethiopia's Megertu Alemu win men's and women's events

The 2024 Valencia Marathon was held on Sunday, December 1. First held in 1981, the 44th edition of this event saw 35,000 participants take part.

Kenya's Sebastian Sawe won the men's elite field after registering a time of 2:02:05. This was the fastest marathon run time recorded so far this season and is the fifth on the all-time leaderboard. He moved ahead of his Kenyan colleague Benson Kipruto, who recorded a time of 2:02:16 at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon.

Following his victory, Sawe expressed his happiness in winning the event in his first marathon run. He said (via Valencia Ciudad Del Running),

"It’s an amazing day, I’m so happy to be here and win in Valencia which is so beautiful. It’s my debut and I’m really happy to win today."

Another of Sawe's compatriots, Daniel Mateiko, secured a third-place finish in 2:04:24 while Ethiopia's Deresa Geleta clinched the second position in the event with a time of 2:02:38. This was Geleta's second marathon podium finish this season after the Sevilla Marathon in February.

In the women's field of the 2024 Valencia Marathon, Ethiopia's Magertu Alemu clinched the title with a time of 2:16:49. This was her first marathon victory in this 2024 season. She recorded a fourth-place finish at the London Marathon in April. Uganda's Stella Chesang and Ethiopia's Tiruye Mesfin finished second and third, with times of 2:18:26 and 2:18:35, respectively.

41-year-old marathoner Sara Hall was the only top-10-placed US athlete in the women's elite field. She finished 10th in the race after clocking 2:23:45. This was Hall's fourth marathon this year after the US Olympic trials, Chicago and Boston Marathon majors.

On this note, let's take a look at the top ten finishers in the 2024 Valencia Marathon's men's and women's elite fields.

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Valencia Marathon 2024: Results of the men's and women's events

United States of America's Sara Hall competed at the Boston Major and Valencia Marathons in 2024 (Image via: Getty Images)

Men's elite field:

1. Sebastian Sawe, Kenya- 2:02:05
2. Deresa Geleta, Ethiopia- 2:02:38
3. Daniel Mateiko, Kenya- 2:04:24
4. Alphonce Simbu, Tanzania- 2:04:38
5. Tadesse Abraham, Switzerland- 2:04:40
6. Chimdessa Debele, Ethiopia- 2:04:44
7. Maru Teferi, Israel- 2:04:44
8. Hillary Kipkoech, Kenya- 2:04:45
9. Samwel Fitwi, Germany- 2:04:56
10. Sisay Lemma, Ethiopia- 2:04:59

Women's elite field:

1. Megertu Alemu, Ethiopia- 2:16:49
2. Stella Chesang, Uganda- 2:18:26
3. Tiruye Mesfin, Ethiopia- 2:18:35
4. Evaline Chirchir, Kenya- 2:20:33
5. Majida Maayouf, Spain- 2:21:43
6. Chmdessa Kumsa, Ethiopia- 2:21:54
7. Laura Luengo, Spain- 2:22:31
8. Isobel Batt-Doyle, Australia- 2:22:59
9. Moira Stewartova, Czech Republic- 2:23:44
10. Sara Hall, United States of America- 2:23:45