SPOKANE, Wash. — The 47th annual Bloomsday run brought a mixed bag of former and first time champions in the elite athlete divisions.
For the sixth time overall and for the second straight year, Tekoa native and 2023 Boston Marathon champion Susannah Scaroni dominated the women's wheelchair division.
Scaroni barely missed breaking her own course record, finishing just after the 30 minute mark.
She spoke after the race about what it means to be looked up to by younger wheelchair athletes who hope to eventually emulate her success.
"The most important thing to me right now is to see the future wheelchair racing generations and to see the communities that have now been exposed, for years, to what people with disabilities are capable of and see us as just humans living our lives to the best of our abilities," Scaroni said.
The men's wheelchair champion was 19-year-old Evan Correll, who won on his Bloomsday debut. The University of Illinois student spoke about his first trek through the Bloomsday course.
"It was definitely the most complex course I have ever done. It may not be as long as a marathon, but it was defintiely as taxing as one. The hills were really steep and that was unexpected, but the downhills were really fun. I think i hit 35 or 36 miles per hour, so I was flying," Correll said.
In the men's elite division, 2018 champion Jemal Yimer recaptured his crown finishing in just under 34 minutes and breaking his first winning time by 20 seconds.
"Today I felt really good and I am happy. Thank you to the Bloomsday organization, I feel happy," Yimer said.
Finally, in the women's elite division we had a stunner, Yeshi Kalayu Chekole defeated Bloomsday course record holder Cynthia Limo and American 10 mile recordholder Kiera D'Amato to win in her Bloomsday debut.
It is not just Chekole's first time in Spokane, it is her first time in the United States, and the Ethiopian was proud of her first performance on American soil.
"The course is up and down and very hard, but I finished number one in my first time in America, so I am happy," Chekole said.
We will see if this year's champions will return to the Lilac City next year to defend their crowns for the 48th running of Bloomsday.
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