Ethiopians Assefa, Deba triumph at Bloomsday

SPOKANE - Belete Assefa managed a decisive surge that carried him away from Kenyan Emmanuel Bett to become the first Ethiopian male champion in the 37-year history of the Lilac Bloomsday Run.

Buzunesh Deba, meanwhile, made it three in a row for Ethiopian women at Bloomsday, as she shook off a determined effort by fellow Ethiopian Makida Adbela heading up Doomsday Hill, then cruised to a comfortable victory over the final 2 1/2 miles to the finish.

With a quarter mile left, Assefa threw in a surge that propelled him around Bett and into the lead. Bett admitted later that he felt a twinge in his hip that thwarted any hope he had of matching Assefa's sprint. By the finish, Assefa's margin of victory had climbed to 12 seconds. Assefa won the 12-kilometer run in 34 minutes, 21 seconds.

"In 2011 I am 600 meters out and tired," said Assefa, who finished third that year to Simon Ndirangu and Allan Kiprono. "I went left, then right, a big mistake. This time I am good."

As Deba headed up the first of the three hills on the course, she made a break, with only Abdela able to cover the move. Misiker Mekonnin, the 2011 Bloomsday champion who was expected to challenge for the title, had to scratch from the field on Thursday due to injury.

"I live in New York and I train in hot weather," said Deba, when asked about the warmish conditions. "So it's not too bad for me."

Assefa and Deba each earned $7,000 for their wins, part of a purse of nearly $100,000 in all divisions of the race. Kellyn Johnson and Brent Vaughn, who finished eighth in the men's race, each took home Bloomsday's top U.S. citizen prize of $5,000, plus open prize money.

In the men's wheelchair race, 53-year-old Californian Scott Parson made it two Bloomsdays in a row, but this year it took him until the final 100 meters to shake his nearest competitor, Laurens Molina of Costa Rica.

In the women's wheelchair race, Susannah Scaroni of Tekoa, Wash., got out to an early lead and was never challenged, becoming the first woman from the region to earn the wheelchair title.

The Masters winner was former open wheelchair star Craig Blanchette, while Santiago Sanz earned his ninth T2 Quad title, and Rob Maybe was the T1 Quad victor.

A total of 47,165 finished from a field of more than 51,000 who signed up.