Ethiopia's Adane wins Ottawa marathon, Canada's Elmore second among women

Four Ethiopian runners claimed top prizes at this year's Tartan Ottawa International Marathon and a Canadian woman is among the top finishers.

Yihunilign Adane came in first overall with a time of 2:08:22, followed by Gebretsadik Abraha at 2:09:13 and Abdi Ali Gelchu in third with a time of 2:10:38.

Here are your Tartan Ottawa International Marathon top 3 finishers:
Female
1 Waganesh Mekasha (02:24:47.1)
2 Malindi Elmore (02:27:4.1)
3 Melat Kejata (02:27:50.1)
Male
1 Yihunilign Adane (02:08:22.1)
2 Gebretsadik Abraha (02:09:13.1)
3 Abdi Ali Gelchu (02:10:38.1)#RunOttawa2023 pic.twitter.com/lobC2axM7E

— Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend (@OttawaRaceWknd) May 28, 2023

Malindi Elmore, of Kelowna, B.C., finished with a time of 2:27:4.1, putting her in second place among women behind Ethiopia's Waganesh Mekasha (2:24:47.1) and ahead of Germany's Melat Kejeta (2:27:50.1).

Lee Wesselius was the top Canadian man with a time of 2:18:26.

"We curated a really top-notch field again this year. We had amazing African athletes, 11 Japanese runners, some Europeans and some new Canadian talent that has the possibility to be truly great one day," said Run Ottawa executive director and race director Ian Fraser in a news release. "I'm feeling really good about how it all went this year."

Canada's Malindi Elmore was the top Canadian woman at the Tartan Ottawa International Marathon, coming in second among women overall with a time of 2:237:44. May 28, 2023. (Photo credit: Victah Sailer)

New Brunswick’s Lee Wesselius was the top Canadian at the Tartan Ottawa International Marathon, finishing in 2:18:26. May 28, 2023. (Photo credit: Victah Sailer)

Ethiopia's Waganesh Mekasha was the fastest woman at the Tartan Ottawa International Marathon, finishing in 2:24:47. May 28, 2023. (Photo credit: Victah Sailer)

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who took part in the marathon to raise money for Ottawa Salus, finished with a time of 4:08:13. Sutcliffe is the first sitting mayor of Ottawa to participate in the Ottawa Marathon. 

Cornwall, Ont.'s Wendell Lafave completed his 200th marathon Sunday, finishing the Ottawa marathon in a time of 5:08:14. Lafave has run marathons on all seven continents and in every Canadian province and twice in all U.S. states. 

The top male and female runners in the elite field win $30,000 for a first place finish, $15,000 for a second place finish and $10,000 for a third place finish. The top five Canadians receive additional prize money, of $5,000 first place, $2,500 for second, $1,500 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth.

No records were broken this year. The men's record time is 2:06:04, set in 2022 by Andualem Belay Shiferaw. The women's record is 2:22:17, set in 2018 by Gelete Burka. Breaking an Ottawa Marathon record comes with a $10,000 bonus. The Canadian men's and women's records were both set in 2022 by Cam Levins and Natasha Wodak, respectively. The Canadian men's record is 2:07:09 and the Canadian women's record is 2:23:12. Canadians who break them are also awarded $10,000.

OTTAWA RACE WEEKEND STATS

Organizers say 3,178 people took part in the marathon this year. There were 27,954 participants in all events during Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.

• Ottawa Kids Marathon: 1,189
• Ottawa 2K presented by ASICS Runkeeper:  2,385
• Ottawa 5K presented by ASICS Runkeeper:  5,978
• Ottawa 10K presented by Otto's Ottawa: 6,485
• Ottawa 10K – Visually Impaired: 29
• Ottawa Half-Marathon presented by Desjardins:  8,710
• Tartan Ottawa International Marathon:  3,178