Buzunesh Deba facts for kids
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 September 1987 Ethiopia |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Ethiopia |
Buzunesh Deba (born September 8, 1987) is a talented long-distance runner from Ethiopia. She lives in The Bronx, New York. Buzunesh is famous for winning the 2014 Boston Marathon. She finished that race in her fastest time ever: 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 59 seconds. She was awarded the win after another runner was later found to have cheated.
Buzunesh has been a very active runner since 2009. She has won many big races, including the California International Marathon, San Diego Marathon, Los Angeles Marathon, and Grandma's Marathon. She has also placed in the top ten three times at the famous New York City Marathon.
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Buzunesh Deba's Running Journey
Buzunesh first competed for Ethiopia in 2003. She ran in a long-distance race at the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She finished 33rd in that event. In 2004, she ran on a track in Japan, completing the 5000 metres race in 15 minutes and 52.33 seconds. It took a few more years for her to become a specialist in road running, which means running on roads instead of tracks.
Starting Her Marathon Career
In 2009, Buzunesh moved to The Bronx, New York. She lived there with her husband, Worku Beyi, who is also a marathon runner. She started competing in road races across the United States. She won the Fairfield Half Marathon in June. In September, she won the Charleston Distance Classic.
Buzunesh ran her very first marathon race in 2009. She won the Quad Cities Marathon on her first try! Her time was 2 hours, 44 minutes, and 22 seconds. Just two months later, she ran the New York City Marathon. She finished seventh and greatly improved her time to 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 54 seconds. She even ran a third marathon that year, winning the California International Marathon.
Success in 2010
Buzunesh started 2010 with another win at the Naples Half Marathon. She then won the National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer. She went on a winning streak, winning seven races in a row! These included the Broad Street Run and the Grandma's Marathon. At Grandma's Marathon, she set a new personal best time of 2 hours, 31 minutes, and 35 seconds.
Later in 2010, Buzunesh won her third marathon of the year. This was the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis. She set another personal best time of 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 23 seconds. She beat the second-place runner by almost eight minutes! She also ran the 2010 New York City Marathon again, finishing tenth. She ended the year by winning the California Marathon for the second time. This meant she won four out of five marathons she ran that year.
Highlights of 2011
In early 2011, Buzunesh won the Los Angeles Marathon. She then won the Newport 10000 and the Healthy Kidney 10K in New York. She ran the San Diego Marathon very fast. She finished the first half of the race in just 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 53 seconds. She won the race with a new personal best time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 31 seconds. This time was even faster than a record set by Joan Benoit in 1984! Her husband joked that he would try harder to get the record back. Later that year, she came second at the 2011 New York City Marathon. She set another personal best time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 19 seconds.
Challenges and Triumphs
Buzunesh had to miss the 2012 Boston Marathon because of a foot injury. She returned to racing in 2013 at the Houston Marathon. She finished second with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 26 seconds.
In 2014, Buzunesh ran the New York Half Marathon. She then won the 2014 Boston Marathon. She was officially given the title in December 2016. This happened after the original winner was disqualified for doping. In 2024, it was reported that she was still waiting for her prize money. A kind businessman, Doug Guyer, paid her the missing prize money after reading about it. He also asked the marathon organizers to pay her the rest of the bonus money. In November 2014, Buzunesh placed ninth in the TCS New York City Marathon.
In 2015, Buzunesh finished third in the 2015 Boston Marathon. Her time was 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 9 seconds.
Images for kids
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Buzunesh Deba
