Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa Kebede made her debut as a member of On's Elite Athlete team on Sunday, bringing home runner-up honors at the 2024 Chicago Marathon.

Kebede signed with On in the run-up to the Chicago Marathon. She joins Boston Marathon and NYC Marathon champion Hellen Obiri (KEN) as one of On's latest additions to their elite roster.

This weekend at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, Kebede ran an unrelenting race as she chased Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) through the first half. Kebede split 1:04:30 through the opening 13.1 miles and maintained second throughout the rest of the race. She finished in 2:17:32.

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Hailing from Ethiopia, Kebede made a name for herself with a win at the 2019 Beijing Marathon. She also claimed silver at the 2022 Seoul Marathon, and took third place at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon. 

This year, she set a personal best in the marathon and ran 2:15:55 at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon.

She also owns the ninth-fastest half marathon in world history. At the Houston Half Marathon this year, Kebede ran 1:04:37. Notably, she ran seven seconds faster through the opening half of her 2024 Chicago Marathon.

The marathon in Chicago was the first race for Kebede, kitted out by the Swiss sportswear brand On. Ahead of her first competition with her new sponsor, she shared her thoughts.

“I’m excited to officially be part of the team and to celebrate my debut with On here in Chicago. On has achieved so much in just a short time, and the product quality is second to none. I’m so proud of my effort today against some of the best runners in the world. I went for it all and to come away with a silver medal in my first race as an On athlete feels special,” Kebede said.

Niklas Bühner, Athlete Manager at On, welcomed Kebede to the team. “We are delighted to welcome Sutume to the On team. Her achievements speak for themselves, and we believe this collaboration will inspire further success. We're proud of Sutume and her great result in Chicago. To have such a runner on the team is a true enrichment and we can't wait to see what the future of this partnership holds,” he said.

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