Worknesh Degefa

Worknesh Degefa (Amharic: ወርቅነሽ ደገፋ; born October 28, 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance road runner. As of April 2019^[update], she is the fourth-fastest female marathoner in history,^[2] based on her 2:17:41 run at the Dubai Marathon, January 25, 2019.^[3] The winner of the race in Dubai was Ruth Chepngetich, who holds the third-best marathon time. Degefa had won Dubai in 2017 in 2:22:36. She returned in 2018 to run 2:19:53, finishing fourth behind three other Ethiopians,^[4] all of whom achieved rankings in the top 25 of all time. It was the first time four women had run under 2:20 in the same race.^[5] As of April 2019^[update], she is also ranked just outside the top 25 in the half marathon,^[6] running 1:06:14 at the Prague Half Marathon in 2016.^[7]

Worknesh Degefa

Worknesh Degefa near the halfway point of the 2019 Boston Marathon, which she won.
Personal information
Full name	Worknesh Degefa
Born	(1990-10-28) October 28, 1990 (age 34)[1] Ethiopia
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Marathon, half marathon
Medal record 2017 Dubai Marathon 2019 Boston Marathon 2019 Dubai Marathon

On April 15, 2019, Degefa won the Boston Marathon in 2:23:31 in front-running fashion, by surging away from the field only 8 km into the race, despite never having seen the course before, even in training. By the 30 km mark, she had opened up an almost 3 minute lead over the chasers. Edna Kiplagat ran down Heartbreak Hill in an effort to catch Degefa, narrowing the gap to 42 seconds by the finish.^[8]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
2017	Dubai Marathon	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	1st	2:22:36
	Olomouc Half Marathon	Olomouc, Czech Republic	1st[9]	1:09:19
2018	Dubai Marathon	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	4th	2:19:53
	Prague Half Marathon	Prague, Czech Republic	3rd	1:08:10
2019	Dubai Marathon	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2nd	2:17:41
	Boston Marathon	Boston, United States	1st[10]	2:23:31