It was Addis Ababa on the Potomac, as teammates Tadesse Tola and Teyba Erkesso won the men's and women's races for the first ever Ethiopian sweep at the 35th Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile run.

Tola (19) pulled away only in the final half mile to win in 46 minutes 1 second, the fastest Cherry Blossom since Ismael Kirui ran a then-world record 45:38 in 1995. Tola opened a 20-yard lead after two miles, but his early moxie didn't sap his kick late.

"The pace felt slow at the start," Tola said through a translator. "Nobody wanted to go ahead."

A pack of five caught him before three miles, and with one mile to go, Tola, Tanzanian John Yuda and John Korir, from Kenya, were even.

"I was watching behind me, waiting for them to move, but I was not feeling too tired," said Tola, who continued to push the pace.

Yuda stayed close but finished three seconds back in 46:04. Three-time champion John Korir took third in 46:11, the fastest of his six Cherry Blossom races. Korir had sought to join Bill Rodgers, who won consecutively between 1978 and '81, as the race's only four-time champions.

"I was hoping to win," Korir said. "But I was struggling. I am not in good shape now. I haven't been doing speedwork. Next year I'll be better prepared."

Erkesso (24) ran a strong solo effort, winning in 51:44, the fastest women's time since South African Colleen De Reuck set a then-world record of 51:16 in 1998. Runner-up Tatyana Petrova (23), a Russian training in Germantown, ran 52:58. Kathy Butler (33), from Britain, took third in 53:26.

"I am full of confidence," Erkesso said through a translator. Erkesso pulled out of the World Cross-County Championships on March 24 with an illness. "I am rested and not sick now," she said.

Steve Meinelt (23), from Washington, was the top local finisher, 11th overall in a personal-best 48:45. Meinelt passed and re-passed Justin Young, from Superior, CO, to finish as the top American and win a trip to the Cherry Blossom's sister race next February in Japan.

"I was a little worried about going out so fast," said Meinelt, who covered the first mile in 4:41 and PR'd at five in 24:06. "But I knew I was fit." Meinelt plans to run 10,000 meters on the track at the Penn Relays later in April. He qualified for this fall's Olympic Trials marathon in New York with a 2:18:53 in Houston earlier this year.

Neil Darmody (17), from Gaithersburg, completed his third Cherry Blossom in 55:30, taking second to race-winner Tola in the 19-and-under category. Ben Beach (57), from Bethesda, completed his 35th Cherry Blossom; he is the only runner to have finished every year,

District Mayor Adrian Fenty, nearly ubiquitous on the local running scene after three months in office, ran 1:08:34 just eight days after completing the National Marathon. "I had a good week of training," Fenty said, "and then I tapered down on Friday and Saturday."

A record 10,707 finishers took advantage of the ideal racing conditions.

For more information about the event, and full results, see the race Web site.
See a press release on the top finishers.