Fotyen Tesfay of Ethiopia ran an incredible 2:10:51 to win the Zurich Barcelona Marathon in Spain on Sunday, recording the second-fastest time in world history for a woman and the fastest-ever debut at the distance. “Today was fantastic—not what I was expecting, but it is good,” she told the race broadcaster, according to World Athletics . She tested positive in March 2025 and her results from then on were disqualified, but her world record still stands. Chepngetich’s world record mark was met with skepticism at the time, as it improved Tigst Assefa’s previous world record of 2:11:53 by almost two minutes. Tesfay is the first woman since Chepngetich to beat Assefa’s mark, which itself was a world record by more than two minutes when she ran it at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.

Source: Ethiopian News March 16, 2026 14:06 UTC