Ayele Abshero of Ethiopia won the Dubai Marathon Friday, setting a course record of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 23 seconds in his first marathon, giving his country a morale-boosting victory over rivals Kenya in an Olympic year. The 21-year-old moved up to the full marathon distance after having broken the hour mark in the half marathon in the Hague last year. Abshero surged to the front of a pack at the 34 kilometer mark and then pulled away from his compatriot Dino Sefir Kemal at 39 kilometers to win the race by 27 seconds over Kemal. Markos Geneti was third, completing a clean sweep of the placings for Ethiopia. “I prepared very well for this marathon. Even though this is my first marathon, I was confident I would perform well,” Abshero said. “By winning, I'm very happy. For the next marathon, this win will be a big motivation ... If I can go to the Olympics, I will try and do something special.” Abshero's time was 30 seconds faster than the course record set by the great Haile Gebrselassie in 2008, a record Abshero said called “surprising” and “unbelievable.” In the women's race, defending champion Aselefech Mergia made it an Ethiopian double as she held off Lucy Kabuu of Kenya by just three seconds, winning in 2 hours 19 minutes and 31 seconds. Kabuu, running her first marathon after being a force at 10,000 meters, briefly held the lead in the closing stages but Mergia passed her and held on for the victory. Ethiopia's Mare Dibaba was third, 21 seconds behind compatriot Mergia. “This is special day for me,” Mergia said. “Last year, I was first and then again this year. It brings me great happiness.”
