Roger Federer applauds Tadesse Abraham on his "amazing career" as compatriot breaks Swiss record in his final marathon

Roger Federer has praised Tadesse Abraham for breaking Switzerland’s marathon record. Tadesse, who turned 42 in August, raced in the final marathon of his career at the 2024 Valencia Marathon.

The Valencia Marathon, held on Sunday, December 1, saw the Swiss runner finish in fifth place with a time of 2:04:40, 21 seconds faster than his previous Swiss record set last spring at the Barcelona Marathon (2:05:01). Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe claimed the top spot, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:02:05, the fastest marathon time of the year.

In addition to being compatriots with Federer, Abraham is sponsored by the Swiss athletic shoe company On Running, of which the 23-time Grand Slam winner is a shareholder.

Following Sunday's race, Federer shared an image of Tadesse Abraham on his Instagram story. In the caption, he congratulated the marathoner on an “amazing career.”

“Congrats @tadesse_abraham_official on an amazing career” - He wrote

Former world No.1 applauds Tadesse Abraham. source: Instagram

Abraham will bid adieu with races in Geneva, Sion, and Zurich for his farewell tour. Among his achievements, he has had three Olympic appearances and won a European half-marathon title.

Roger Federer on his partnership with On running - “They maybe thought I was too big”

Roger Federer opened up on his partnership with On running - Source: Getty

In an interview with Forbes in 2021, Roger Federer shared how he became a shareholder of On Running after connecting with the brand's founders, Olivier Bernhard, David Allemann, and Caspar Coppetti. He explained that the founders felt he was too prominent for a standard ambassador role and believed it wouldn’t suit him. They also wanted his confidence in the team’s technology, vision, and drive.

“They maybe thought I was too big, but we knew having just a regular ambassador role for me, again, was not the right way to go, They wanted to see and feel how much do you believe in us. I was like, I believe in you guys. I think the technology is great, I think you are fast-forward thinking, you have the drive it takes, in my mind, and I like spending time with you guys. I believe in you guys.” - he said

He further mentioned that they began working on a new deal, and it felt odd to him to suddenly be in the role of a businessman.

“This is when we started structuring another type of deal. This is something also very new for me and all of a sudden you are a businessman, and it just sounds so weird.” - the former World No.1 said

Federer has been with the brand since 2019, which was founded in 2010.