In a heart-stopping finish that had the crowd on its feet, Abay Alemu snatched victory from Tadesse Mamo by the slimmest of margins—just one-hundredth of a second—at the Belfast Marathon on Sunday. The Ethiopian duo broke away from the pack in the final kilometers, setting up a dramatic sprint to the line. Alemu crossed the finish line in 2:16:23, barely a blink ahead of his compatriot, in what marathon fans are calling one of the closest finishes in recent memory.

"I'm very happy—the people were very nice," said a beaming Alemu after the race. "The weather was very cold and the pace was not good, but the feeling is nice." His fellow Ethiopian Abera Ketema rounded out the podium in third place with a time of 2:17:38, securing an all-Ethiopian sweep of the men's top spots.

On the women's side, it was a story of persistence paying off for Morocco's Lala Aziza Selsouli. After two previous runner-up finishes in Belfast, the third time proved to be the charm as she cruised to victory in 2:38:00. "This is my third time—I always wish to win, and finally I did it," said an emotional Selsouli. "I like this race, I like to run in Belfast, and I'm very happy to win."

Local favorite Judith Storm of City of Derry thrilled the home crowd by smashing her personal best with a time of 2:39:09 to claim second place. Melissa Gibson of Ealing completed the women's podium in third at 2:42:44. Meanwhile, Aghadowey's Jayne Bleakley successfully defended her wheelchair title, crossing the line in 2:32:39.