Aussiestatman wrote:
19th female is Gelete Burka, 33yo and ranked 6. Was third on the short course that was Abu Dhabi in 2.24.07, then won Paris in 2.22.47. Ran third in Chicago in 2.20.55. In 2018 was sixth in Dubai in 2.20.45 (PB) and won Ottawa in 2.22.17.
This is my profile for her in Chicago:
better write a quick bio:
Burka is 33yo and ranked 6. This year won Paris against four other very talented elite marathoners, all finishing under 2.24. More in a minute.
In that event her and Azmera Gebru, currently ranked 29, ran the other three off their feet after the 40k mark, where they were all together, to put a gap of 43 sec or more on them. The other three were: Azmera Abreha, now ranked 26 and runner-up in the Cardiff half last weekend; Clemence Calvin, and Selly Chepyego. Selly was so good in Berlin with her podium finish making her SO much better than her 56 ranking. Burka last year finished two marathons inside 2.22.20 and won the deep Valencia half in 66.11.
So, for me, its like Burka is the gatekeeper to this top 20. Any one of those four could have taken her place if they could have defeated her on the streets of Paris [well, maybe not Calvin].