Mulugeta Uma is a 1x World U18 Championships Silver medallist and 1x Youth Olympic Silver medallist who recently won the 2024 Paris Marathon on Sunday, April 7. Uma, clocking a winning time of 2:05:33, defeated Kenya athletes Titus Ekiru and Elisha Rotich, who secured second and third respectively.
Uma has participated in a lot of competitions including the Dam tot Damloop Zaandam 10 Miles Road held in September 2023, where he clocked 46:01, and the 2023 Zurich Maraton de Sevilla, also held in September, where he clocked 2:06 hours.
The Ethiopian athlete also competed in the 2015 Gent 1500 Metres Short Track and the 2015 Pascual Guerrero Stadium 1500 Metres event, where he clocked 3:43 and 3:41 minutes respectively.
The Youth Olympic Silver medalist and his colleague, Mestawut Fikir, clinched the men’s and women’s race on their first try, with Uma’s winning time of 2:05:33 slashing almost a minute from his last personal best of 2:06.07. The 2024 Paris Marathon was Mulugeta Uma’s fourth marathon since the start of his career and the 26-year-old successfully secured an incredible win for his country.
Mulugeta Uma gave Ethiopia a double with his colleague Mestawut Fikir
Mulugeta Uma and Mestawut Fikir gave Ethiopia a double for the first time in five years in the 2024 Paris Marathon.
During the race, Uma was moving to the finishing line but nearly slammed into an official moving toward the last turn. However, he recovered quickly and finished first, with Ekiru finishing 15s behind him. Rotich, who set the race record in the 2021 tournament, finished more than a minute behind.
The last time Ethiopia secured the double was in the 2019 Paris men's and women's run where Abrha Milaw and Gelete Burka clinched victory, so the double win is a huge victory for the country. In the forthcoming 2024 Olympics, the men's marathon is scheduled for August 10 while the women's race is the next day, and everyone very much anticipates the competition.