Worknesh Degefa (Amharic: ወርቅነሽ ደገፋ; born October 28, 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance road runner. As of April 2019[update], she is the fourth-fastest female marathoner in history,[2] based on her 2:17:41 run at the Dubai Marathon, January 25, 2019.[3] The winner of the race in Dubai was Ruth Chepngetich, who holds the third-best marathon time. Degefa had won Dubai in 2017 in 2:22:36. She returned in 2018 to run 2:19:53, finishing fourth behind three other Ethiopians,[4] all of whom achieved rankings in the top 25 of all time. It was the first time four women had run under 2:20 in the same race.[5] As of April 2019[update], she is also ranked just outside the top 25 in the half marathon,[6] running 1:06:14 at the Prague Half Marathon in 2016.[7]
On April 15, 2019, Degefa won the Boston Marathon in 2:23:31 in front-running fashion, by surging away from the field only 8 km into the race, despite never having seen the course before, even in training. By the 30 km mark, she had opened up an almost 3 minute lead over the chasers. Edna Kiplagat ran down Heartbreak Hill in an effort to catch Degefa, narrowing the gap to 42 seconds by the finish.[8]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dubai Marathon | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 1st | 2:22:36 |
| Olomouc Half Marathon | Olomouc, Czech Republic | 1st[9] | 1:09:19 | |
| 2018 | Dubai Marathon | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 4th | 2:19:53 |
| Prague Half Marathon | Prague, Czech Republic | 3rd | 1:08:10 | |
| 2019 | Dubai Marathon | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 2nd | 2:17:41 |
| Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st[10] | 2:23:31 |
