Tsegaye Kebede looking for breakthrough in Chicago Marathon

Runner-up in epic battle with Wanjiru in 2010 could become 1st Ethiopian man to win race.

Tsegaye Kebede has some big marathon wins: London, Paris, two in Fukuoka, Japan. The 25-year-old Ethiopian also has won bronze medals at the Olympics and world championships.

But the races Kebede considers the best of his career were two he lost in foot-to-foot, heart-to-heart combat over the last six miles against the late Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya.

The first was in London in 2009, when Wanjiru won by 10 seconds. The second was in Chicago in 2010, when the margin was 19 seconds but the competition even fiercer.

Kebede, among the favorites in Sunday’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon, enjoyed the thrill of battle more than the joy of winning in a rout, as he had three times. Read more