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Shura Kitata

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This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by his given name, Shura, and not as Kitata.
Shura Kitata
Shura running in the 2018 London Marathon
Personal information
NationalityEthiopian
Born (1996-06-09) 9 June 1996 (age 28)
Sport
Country Ethiopia
SportAthletics
EventMarathon
Medal record
Representing  Ethiopia
Athletics
World Marathon Majors
Gold medal – first place 2020 London Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2018 London Marathon
Silver medal – second place 2018 New York City Marathon

Shura Kitata Tola (born 9 June 1996) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and half-marathon. He has raced in several World Marathon Majors including the 2020 London Marathon where he won the race in a time of 2:05:41 and the 2018 London Marathon where he finished in second place behind Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya. Shura beat Kipchoge in the 2020 London Marathon to secure his first London Marathon title, just a second ahead of Vincent Kipchumba. His other best performances include the 2017 Rome Marathon and 2017 Frankfurt Marathon victories, where he finished with the times 2:07:30 and 2:05:50, respectively, and second in the 2018 New York City Marathon behind Lelisa Desisa with a time of 2:06:01.

Early life

Shura Kitata was born on 9 June 1996 near the capital of Ethiopia Addis Ababa on his family's farm.[1] He began running in grade school.[1] He wanted to become a doctor or a pilot, but had to leave school in order to help his parents on the farm.[2]

Career

In 2015, Shura went to a training camp in Addis Ababa run by Haji Adilo[2] and three months later he debuted in the marathon distance at the 2015 Shanghai Marathon in China. He finished in a time of 2:08:53 behind Paul Lonyangata and Stephen Mokoka.[3]

The next year, he finished second at the 2016 Xiamen International Marathon in China. By the last 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), a small leading group had formed consisting of Shura, Feyisa Bekele, Abdela Godana, Alemu Gemechu, Gebre Mekuant, and Vincent Kipruto. Kipruto and Shura left the others behind, however, with 200m to go, Kipruto put in a strong finish to leave Shura in second place with a time of 2:10:20.[4] In May, he competed in the Ottawa Marathon, finishing second in a time of 2:10:04 behind Dino Sefir.[5] In November, he came second at the Istanbul Marathon in a time of 2:14:06 behind Evans Kiplagat.[6]

Shura Kitata at the 2017 Frankfurt Marathon

On 2 January 2017, Shura again finished well in the Xiamen International Marathon, finishing third behind Lemi Berhanu and Mosinet Geremew in a time of 2:10:36.[7] He won his first marathon in April, when he beat the likes of Werkunesh Seyoum, Solomon Lema, and Dominic Ruto at the Rome Marathon in Italy. He finished with a time of 2:07:30, the second-fastest time on the course.[8] In July, he debuted in the half marathon distance at the Bogotá Half Marathon, finishing third behind Feyisa Lilesa and Peter Kirui in a time of 1:05:04.[9] It was in the second half of 2017 that Shura had his greatest success; he won the Frankfurt Marathon with a personal best of 2:05:50. He left Kelkile Gezahegn and Getu Feleke in the second half of the race.[10]

In 2018, Shura competed at his first World Marathon Majors race at the London Marathon. The field included Eliud Kipchoge, Mo Farah, Kenenisa Bekele, and Daniel Wanjiru. Shura finished in a "surprise" second place behind Kipchoge in a time of 2:04:49.[11][12] On 16 September, he won the 2018 Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon by nearly four minutes in a time of 59:16.[13] A month later, Shura competed in another World Marathon Major, the New York City Marathon. He came second behind Lelisa Desisa by just two seconds to set a time of 2:06:01, the third fastest time on the course. He beat former half marathon world record holder Geoffrey Kamworor from Ethiopia.[14][15]

In 2019, Shura first raced at the Houston Half Marathon on 19 January, winning the race in a time of 1:00:11. He said it was a "real hard race" with "stiff competition" having finished just three seconds ahead of second place Jemal Yimer.[16] Shura competed in two World Marathon Majors in 2019; the New York City Marathon and the London Marathon. In London, on 28 April, Kipchoge won, Mosinet Geremew came second, Mule Wasihun came third,[17] and Shura came fourth in a time of 2:05:01, about fourteen minutes after he was dropped by the lead group.[18] In New York, he finished fifth in a time of 2:10:39.[19]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 London Marathon was postponed and took place on 4 October.[20] The race didn't take the usual course through the city, but instead consisted of 19.8 laps around St James's Park, with no spectators and only elite runners allowed to participate.[21] A few days before the race, Kenenisa Bekele pulled out due to calf problems, meaning Kipchoge was the "overwhelming favourite".[22] Having struggled with hunger at the 2019 London Marathon, Shura ate soup, bread, eggs and yoghurt for breakfast to ensure he had enough energy.[2]

The race began at a slow pace, passing halfway in 1:02:54.[23] With 4 miles (6.4 km) left, there were still nine in the lead group but at 24 miles (39 km) into the race, Kipchoge was dropped from the group.[23] Shura was involved in a sprint finish down The Mall and managed to beat Vincent Kipchumba to win the race in a time of 2:05:41.[24][23] Kipchoge later revealed that a "blocked right ear" had affected his performance, having finished eighth in a time of 2:06:49.[25][23] Shura said the race was "not special because I beat Eliud Kipchoge, it was special because I worked hard" and also pointed out that "everyone was focussed on two athletes – Kipchoge and Bekele – and I didn't get any attention".[2]

Competition record

Representing  Ethiopia
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2015 Shanghai Marathon Shanghai, China 3rd Marathon 2:08:53
2016 Xiamen International Marathon Xiamen, China 2nd Marathon 2:10:20
Ottawa Marathon Ottawa, Canada 2nd Marathon 2:10:04
Istanbul Marathon Istanbul, Turkey 2nd Marathon 2:14:08
2017 Xiamen International Marathon Xiamen, China 3rd Marathon 2:10:36
Rome Marathon Rome, Italy 1st Marathon 2:07:28
Bogotá Half Marathon Bogotá, Colombia 3rd Half marathon 1:05:04
Frankfurt Marathon Frankfurt, Germany 1st Marathon 2:05:50
2018 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 2nd Marathon 2:04:49
Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon Philadelphia, United States 1st Half marathon 59:16
New York City Marathon New York City, United States 2nd Marathon 2:06:01
2019 Houston Half Marathon Houston, United States 1st Half marathon 1:00:11
London Marathon London, United Kingdom 4th Marathon 2:05:01
New York City Marathon New York City, United States 5th Marathon 2:10:39
2020 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:05:41

References

  1. ^ a b Burfoot, Amby (4 October 2020). "haven't heard of Shura Kitata? Here's what to know". msn.com. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Karoney, Celestine (15 October 2020). "Shura Kitata on what it took to beat Eliud Kipchoge in the London Marathon". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  3. ^ Wu, Vincent (8 November 2015). "Lonyangata sets course record at Shanghai Marathon". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  4. ^ Wu, Vincent (2 January 2016). "Kipruto and Edesa triumph at Xiamen Marathon". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  5. ^ Gains, Paul (29 May 2016). "Sefir and Jelela lead Ethiopian dominance at Ottawa Marathon". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. ^ Cetin, Arif (14 November 2016). "Kiplagat and Barsosio take Istanbul Marathon titles". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  7. ^ Wu, Vincent (2 January 2017). "Berhanu and Mengistu score Ethiopian double at Xiamen Marathon". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Ethiopia's Shura Kitata and Rahma Tusa win Rome Marathon". nazret.com. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  9. ^ Liévano Uribe, Juliana (31 July 2017). "Feyisa Lilesa and Brigid Kosgei take marathon wins". thebogotapost.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Cheruiyot and Kitata dominate at Frankfurt Marathon". worldathletics.org. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  11. ^ "2018 London Marathon results". NBC News. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  12. ^ "London Marathon 2018: Mo Farah finishes third as Eliud Kipchoge wins". bbc.co.uk. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Kitata Runs Alone to Take the Philly RnR Half". runnersgazette.com. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  14. ^ "New York Marathon: Mary Keitany reclaims women's title as Lelisa Desisa wins men's race". bbc.co.uk. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Lelisa Desisa Wins Men's Title at the 2018 New York City Marathon. Mary Keitany Wins the Women's Race". nytimes.com. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  16. ^ Dean, Richard (20 January 2019). "Brigid Kosgei, Shura Kitata win 17th Aramco Houston Half Marathon". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  17. ^ Falkingham, Katie (28 April 2019). "London Marathon 2019: Eliud Kipchoge wins, Mo Farah fifth". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  18. ^ Hartnett, Sean. "London Marathon Men — Nobody Faster Than Kipchoge". trackandfieldnews.com. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  19. ^ Dennehy, Cathal (3 November 2019). "Debutante Jepkosgei and Kamworor victorious at New York City Marathon". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  20. ^ Brown, Luke. "London Marathon postponed due to coronavirus". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  21. ^ Ingle, Sean (6 August 2020). "London Marathon becomes elite-only race running laps in St James's Park". theguardian.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  22. ^ Rathborn, Jack (2 October 2020). "London Marathon 2020: Kenenisa Bekele pulls out of race over calf problem". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  23. ^ a b c d Ingle, Sean (4 October 2020). "London Marathon: Kitata and Kosgei win as blocked ear foils Kipchoge". theguardian.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  24. ^ Sims, Andy (4 October 2020). "London Marathon 2020: Shura Kitata beats Eliud Kipchoge in shock result". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  25. ^ Dennehy, Cathal (4 October 2020). "What Happened to Eliud Kipchoge at the 2020 London Marathon?". runnersworld.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
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