Selemon Barega, Olympic gold medallist, will make his debut at the Zurich Maraton de Sevilla in February

The Ethiopian athlete Selemon Barega will be the star of the starting line of the 40th anniversary of the Zurich Maraton de Sevilla (Spain) on 23 February, the flattest marathon course in Europe. The expectation for Barega's debut in this distance is maximum in the world of athletics. The Olympic gold medallist in the 10000m in Tokyo 2020, indoor world champion in 3000m and silver medallist in the 5000m, and one of the best long-distance runners on the current scene, is training hard for his debut after running the Valencia half marathon in 58:57 as part of his preparation for the Zurich Maraton de Sevilla.

The Ethiopian runner will have three pacemakers at his disposal for his expected first race over 42,195m, and although he will not decide until the week of the race the pace at which he will try to cover the competition, he is the great favourite for the victory on the asphalt of Seville and to fight for one of the best performances of the year. Barega, due to his quality, results, youth and career, is one of the figures called to lead the world marathon in the upcoming years.

Selemon Barega trains in his country together with a large group of top athletes and decided to make his debut in Seville last summer on the advice of colleagues such as Deresa Geleta (current winner and record holder of the Zurich Sevilla Maraton, fifth in Paris 2024) and Alemu Megertu, winner in 2022 and also female record holder of the Andalusian route, the flattest marathon in Europe and absolutely perfect for achieving great times due to its privileged climate in February, being at sea level and the design of the course with very few curves.

The Zurich Seville Marathon celebrates its 40th edition on 23 February at 8.30am, and has sold out all 14,000 places available, its all-time participation record. In its last edition it was one of the six fastest marathons in history with up to 11 national records broken and it became the race with the highest number of sub 2h10 and 2h15 athletes and the second with sub 2h30 women of all times. It has already managed to beat some of the participation records for 2025, with 21% of women registered (17% in the last edition) and more than half of the runners from abroad (53% against 47% in 2024). The Seville Marathon was the fifth fastest Marathon so far last year in terms of elite men.

The Zurich Maraton de Sevilla is organised by the Seville City Council with the collaboration of Sport Life Iberica and the sponsorship of Asics and TotalEnergies.