DUBAI — Lelisa Desisa overtook countryman Berhanu Shiferaw in the final half mile to lead an Ethiopian sweep at the Dubai Marathon in his debut at the distance Friday, finishing in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 45 seconds. Tadese Tola was 7 seconds back in third. Desisa was 22 seconds off last year’s race record. Ethiopia’s Tsegayae Beyene won the women’s race in 2:23:23 to beat countrywoman Kiros Reda by 16 seconds.



Tsegaye’s victory follows a win at last year’s Paris Marathon and a second-place finish in Berlin. She got plenty of tips from her training partner Asselefech Mergia, who won the race the previous two years in Dubai. — AP