Buzunesh Deba (born 8 September 1987) is a

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

-based

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. She won the 2014

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

in her personal-best time of 2:19:59. In the race, Deba finished behind

Rita Jeptoo Rita Jeptoo (born 15 February 1981) is a Kenyan marathon runner. Along with winning the Boston Marathon on two occasions, she has also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan. Jeptoo. Jeptoo was the bronze medalist at the 2006 IAAF Wo ...

, who was later disqualified for doping. A prolific runner since 2009, she is a winner of the

California International Marathon The California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual road marathon () held in Northern California since 1983. The net downhill course starts at Folsom Dam and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The race is organized by the Sacramento ...

, San Diego Marathon,

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

Grandma's Marathon Grandma's Marathon (sport), Marathon (Grandma's) is an annual Road running, road race held each June in Duluth, Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States. The course runs point-to-point from the city of Two Harbors, Minnesota, Two Harbor ...

, and

Twin Cities Marathon The Twin Cities Marathon is a marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to a course that winds through down ...

. She has finished in the top ten three times at the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...

Career

Her first international appearance for Ethiopia came in the long race at the

2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 29/30, 2003. The races were held at the L'Institut Équestre National d'Avenches, L'Institut Équestre National in Avenches near Lausanne, Switzerland. Reports of the event were ...

, where she came 33rd overall. She competed on the track in Japan in 2004, running a best of 15:52.33 minutes for the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

, but it was another five years until she established herself as a

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

specialist. Basing herself in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

, alongside her fellow marathon runner and husband Worku Beyi, she began to compete in road races in the United States in 2009.Rosenthal, Bert (2011-06-06)
Deba blazes 2:23:31 at San Diego Marathon - Keflezighi has homecoming triumph in Half-Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-06-06. She won the Fairfield Half Marathon in June and in July she was the runner-up in the women's section of the Buffalo 4-Mile Chase, That September she won the Charleston Distance Classic 15-miler and then made her debut over the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

, winning on her first try at the Quad Cities Marathon with a time of 2:44:22 hours. Two months later she ran at the

and came seventh, significantly improving her best time to 2:35:54 hours. In an untraditional decision for an elite runner, she ran her third marathon in the space of three months at the

and she won the race in a time of 2:32:17 hours.California International Marathon
ARRS (2011-12-06). Retrieved on 2011-06-06. She began 2010 with a personal best of 1:12:50 hours to win at the Naples Half Marathon and a win at the National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer in Jacksonville Beach followed soon after. She extended her winning streak to seven straight wins by taking the women's titles at the Broad Street Run, Newport 10000, UAE Healthy Kidney 10K,

(with a personal best run of 2:31:35), and the Fairfield Half Marathon. She was tenth at the

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta, once during the first weekend of January and the other on Independence Day. They are held on the sa ...

on July 4, but returned to her winning ways at the Buffalo 4-Miler and Chris Thater Memorial 5K.Buzunesh Deba
. Posso Sports. Retrieved on 2011-06-06. Deba secured her third marathon win of the year at the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

in October, running a personal best of 2:27:23 hours and beating second placed Svetlana Ponomarenko by almost eight minutes. She returned to the major race at the 2010 New York City Marathon and came tenth, although her time of 2:29:55 hours was her second run under the 2:30:00-mark. As in the previous year, she closed the season at the California Marathon and she retained her title, bringing her yearly tally to four marathon wins in five appearances.

2011

At the beginning of 2011, Deba defeated pre-race favourite Mare Dibaba to win the

. She took a second straight victory at the Newport 10000 and then repeated that feat at the Healthy Kidney 10K in New York. She started the San Diego Marathon with a quick pace and reached the halfway marker in 1:09:53 hours. Her second half was not as fast but she still won the race in a new personal best of 2:23:31 hours – a time that also beat Joan Benoit's record for the fastest marathon in California, set at the 1984 Olympic marathon more than 26 years earlier. Deba had also surpassed the best time set by her husband, who remarked: "I will try harder to get the record back. I will not sleep anymore". Two months later she came third at the

Beach to Beacon 10K The TD Beach to Beacon 10K is a road running event that takes place along the coastline of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It begins at Crescent Beach State Park and ends at the Portland Head Light in Fort Williams Park. Starting out as mainly a loc ...

. She placed second at the 2011 New York City Marathon with her new personal best, 2:23:19 hours.

2012

She was set to compete at the

2012 Boston Marathon The 2012 Boston Marathon took place in Boston, Massachusetts on Monday April 16, 2012. It was the 116th edition of the mass-participation marathon. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association, it was the first of the World Marathon Majors series ...

but was a late withdrawal due to a foot injury. She returned to competition in 2013 at the

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

and her run of 2:24:26 hours was enough for second place behind Merima Mohammed.

2014

In 2014, Deba ran the New York Half in 1:08:59, and won the

2014 Boston Marathon The 2014 Boston Marathon took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, April 21. It was the 118th official running of the Boston Marathon, traditionally held on Patriots' Day. The race is organized by the Boston Athletic Association, and has be ...

in 2:19:59, a title awarded in December 2016 after

was disqualified over doping. In April 2024, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' reported she was still awaiting payment of the winner's prize money for her first place finish in that event, as well as the bonus for setting the women's course record. In May 2024, businessman Doug Guyer paid the missing prize money after reading the Journal article and urged Marathon organizers to pay the remaining bonus. On November 2, 2014, Deba placed 9th among the women's field in the TCS New York City Marathon with a time of 2:31:40.

2015

In 2015, Deba finished third in the

with a time of 2:25:09.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deba, Bizunesh Living people 1987 births Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners Boston Marathon female winners