Joshua Belet cures World Championships heartbreak with dominant win at Amsterdam Marathon

ATHLETICS Joshua Belet cures World Championships heartbreak with dominant win at Amsterdam Marathon

Abigael Wafula 13:00 - 15.10.2023

Joshua Belet has healed his World Championships heartbreak, where he did not finish the race, with a win at the Amsterdam Marathon.

Joshua Belet has healed his World Championships heartbreak by securing a resounding victory at the Amsterdam Marathon.

Belet crossed the finish line in a Personal Best time of 2:04:18 to win the race ahead of compatriot Cyprian Kotut who finished second in 2:04:34. Bethwel Chumba completed the podium after clocking a Personal Best time of 2:04:37. 

Belet did not finish the race at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and securing victory in the Dutch capital is a great way to end his season. 

The men’s race started with more than 10 runners on the start line ready to display their prowess as great marathoners.

Bernard Koech was lining up as one of the favourites owing to his impeccable performance earlier this season that saw him bag the Haspa Marathon title and finish second at the Copenhagen Half Marathon. However, the Kenyan pulled out a few kilometers into the race.

He now left the battle to little-known Belet who was looking comfortable from the start. The 25-year-old was enjoying running in the leading pack and controlling the race from time to time.

As the pack passed the 20km mark, Belet put in a surge to open up the field that also included Ethiopia’s Gizealew Ayana, Birhanu Legese, compatriot Cybrian Kotut, and Lemi Berhanu among other strong athletes.

He took the challenge boldly and continued running in the front and was running about 50m ahead of the other runners.

He kept opening the gap and passing the 30km mark, he was leading with quite a huge margin. Ayana had been dropped from the chasing pack with Legese and Kotut still holding onto Belet.

With 2km to go, Belet was powering to victory, with Legese trying hard to close the gap. However, Belet proved too strong for his opponents as he sprinted to the finish line and cut the tape in a time of 2:04:18.

The 25-year-old is just made his marathon debut early this year. He debuted at the Haspa Marathon where he finished second in an impressive time of 2:04:33.