Bloomsday 2023: Jemal Yimer runs away with men’s elite race just off record pace

Jemal Yimer knows what it takes to win Bloomsday. On Sunday, it showed.

Yimer, a 26-year-old Ethiopian and the 2018 champion, leaned on that experience the entire race to win the 2023 Lilac Bloomsday 12 -km (7.456 -mile) men’s elite race. His time was 33 minutes, 58 seconds – just 7 seconds off the record pace of 33:51 set in 2008 by Micah Kogo.

Yimer helped pull a pack up the first long hill, set a blistering pace in the third mile to reduce the competition, then opened up a considerable lead climbing the dreaded “Doomsday Hill” and cruised to his second victory in Spokane.

Overcast skies and temperatures in the low 50s led to fast times in each of the races on Sunday.

“I feel happy,” Yimer said. “Good weather. I want to thank very much the Bloomsday race organizers. I am happy today.”

He became the seventh men’s runner to win multiple Bloomsday titles. Yimer won the 2023 Los Angeles Marathon in March.

Yimer was 20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Teshome Mekonen, who was born in Ethiopia but represents the U.S. Mekonen finished second to Yimer in 2018 as well.

The pace was 1 minute, 10 seconds faster than last year’s winning time of 35:08, set by Kenya’s Charles Wanjiku.

“I thought maybe we had a chance for a course record today,” Andy LeFriec, Bloomsday elite athlete coordinator said. “The women’s (race), just with the two coming down the stretch really pushing each other. But ultimately, just a little bit off today. Still one of the fastest times ever run and a really exciting, exciting day.”

American Reid Buchanan, who finished second in last year’s race when he was edged at the line by Wanjiku, placed ninth with a time of 35:05 – just 3 seconds off last year’s pace.

“I was about the same time (as last year), but I definitely blew myself up a little bit,” Buchanan said. “I’m never gonna go and try and run conservatively. I just wanted to try and run the front and those guys were just really good today.”

Yimer led a lead pack of 12-15 runners from the start. The first 2 miles were run at an average pace and when the group hit the first long uphill stretch on Government Way, Yimer pushed the pace with six other runners – including Mekonen – keeping up.

Yimer ran the third mile in 4:31 – 14 seconds faster than the course average for that stretch. The quick time up the hill took its toll on the pack as one-by-one the other runners, including Buchanan, dropped off the blistering pace.

When Yimer hit the right-hand turn on Whistalks Way toward Spokane Falls Community College, his only companion was Mekonen. The two were side-by-side until Doomsday Hill, when Yimer found a gear Mekonen didn’t have going up the grueling incline.

When Yimer made the right turn onto Mission, he glanced over his shoulder to access the competition, checked his watch, and put his head down.

He ran against himself – and the course record – the rest of the way.

Yimer ran the sixth mile in 4:39, and with a split of 27:17 was just two seconds off the course record pace. But without anyone to push him down Broadway, he made his final turn and carefully made his way down the hill on Monroe Street to the finish line.