Bloomsday 2023: Jemal Yimer, Yeshi Kalayu win elite races; Tekoa’s Susannah Scaroni women’s wheelchair champ
Elite Bloomsday winners Jemal Yimer (left) and Yeshi Kalayu pose with trophies on Sunday, May 7, 2023. (Dave Nichols)
Perfect weather resulted in near-record performances in each of the race divisions for Lilac Bloomsday 2023 in downtown Spokane on Sunday.
Jemal Yimer of Ethiopia, the 2018 Bloomsday champion, finished just 7 seconds off record pace with an unofficial time of 33:58. He was 20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Teshome Mekonen, who was born in Ethiopia but represents the U.S.
The pace was one minute, 10 seconds faster than last year’s winning time of 35:08, set by Kenya’s Charles Wanjiku.
The women’s race was much closer.
Yeshi Kalayu of Ethiopia edged two-time Bloomsday champion and course record holder Cynthia Limo of Kenya by two seconds at 38:49. Limo’s record in 2016 was 38:03.
Susannah Scaroni of Tekoa won the women’s wheelchair division for the fifth time at 30:02, just four seconds off her course record of 29:58 set in 2019.
Evan Correll of Waukee, Iowa, won the men’s wheelchair race with a time of 28:35. It was his first Bloomsday appearance.
All times unofficial.