Ethiopian Runner Fotyen Tesfay Clocks Second-Fastest Women's Marathon Time

Tesfay's Barcelona Marathon win comes with the second-fastest women's marathon time ever recorded.

Mar. 15, 2026 at 4:04pm

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Fotyen Tesfay, a 28-year-old Ethiopian runner, won the Barcelona Marathon on Sunday with a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 51 seconds, the second-fastest women's marathon time in history. Tesfay's time was just 55 seconds off the world record set by Kenyan runner Ruth Chepngetich in 2024, though Chepngetich was later banned for doping violations.

Why it matters

Tesfay's impressive performance in Barcelona establishes her as one of the top female marathon runners in the world, and her time puts her in elite company alongside Chepngetich, whose world record still stands despite her doping ban. Tesfay's success also highlights the continued dominance of East African runners, particularly Ethiopians and Kenyans, in long-distance running events.

The details

Tesfay, who previously won half marathons in Boston and Berlin, was aiming to break the world record in Barcelona but was hampered by strong winds in the latter stages of the race. Despite falling short of the record, her time of 2:10:51 is the second-fastest women's marathon ever recorded, trailing only Chepngetich's 2:09:56 mark from the 2024 Chicago Marathon.

  • Tesfay won the Barcelona Marathon on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
  • Chepngetich set the women's marathon world record of 2:09:56 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon.
  • Chepngetich was banned for three years (backdated to April 19, 2025) after testing positive for a banned diuretic in March 2025.

The players

Fotyen Tesfay

A 28-year-old Ethiopian runner who won the Barcelona Marathon with the second-fastest women's marathon time in history.

Ruth Chepngetich

A Kenyan runner who holds the women's marathon world record of 2:09:56, set at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, but was later banned for three years due to doping violations.

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What they’re saying

“Today was fantastic — not what I was expecting, but it is good. My plan was to attack the world record, but today there was a lot of wind, I was not able to push in the last part of the race. Today I did not succeed, but in the next marathon I would like to try for the world record.”

— Fotyen Tesfay

The takeaway

Fotyen Tesfay's impressive performance in Barcelona demonstrates the continued dominance of East African runners in long-distance events, and her time puts her in elite company alongside the now-disgraced world record holder Ruth Chepngetich. Tesfay's ambition to break the world record in a future marathon will be one to watch as she seeks to cement her status as one of the top female marathon runners in the world.