Ethiopian clocks 57:30 to take one second off Jacob Kiplimo’s mark as Agnes Ngetich runs 63:04 to win women’s race
The self-proclaimed city of running delivered once again with a world record on Sunday (Oct 27) with Yomif Kejelcha clocking 57:30 in the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich.
Instead of the usual blue skies, on this occasion spectators had their brollies out to shelter from the rain. The weather made no difference, though, as the 27-year-old from Ethiopia took one second off Jacob Kiplimo’s mark of 57:31 which was set in Lisbon three years ago.
The women’s race also saw a scintillating time as Agnes Ngetich of Kenya went No.2 on the world all-time rankings with 63:04.
Kejelcha now simultaneously holds the world records for the indoor mile and half-marathon as he ran 3:47.01 in 2019. He first showed his talent on the international stage a decade ago when he won the world under-18 3000m and world under-20 5000m titles. Since then he has won two world indoor 3000m crowns – in 2016 and 2018 – but has generally disappointed in major championships. He finished sixth, for example, in the Olympic 10,000m this year.
The tall Ethiopian is known for his fast finish but maybe he has a great future in the marathon. On Sunday in Valencia he cruised through 5km in 13:38 and 10km in 27:12 before drawing further clear of his rivals in the closing stages. With the music from the Marvel movie The Avengers blasting out from the tannoy in the finish area, he stormed home to nick a second off Kiplimo’s mark.
Runner-up was Daniel Mateiko of Kenya with 58:17 as Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi of Kenya was third in 58:21. Gemechu Dida of Ethiopia followed in fourth in 58:39 with Vicent Langat of Kenya fifth in 58:41, Selemon Barega of Ethiopia sixth in 58:57 and Birhanu Balew of Bahrain seventh in 59:41.
The women’s world record of 62:52 was set by Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia on the same course in Valencia three years ago and Ngetich gave it a scare this weekend by finishing only 12 seconds outside the mark on her debut at the distance.
Ngetich has a good history in Valencia. In January this year, she ran a world 10km record of 28:46 in the Spanish city.
On Sunday the Kenyan passed 5km in 14:39 and 10km in 29:18 before fading in the closing stages as she won from Fotyen Tesfay of Ethiopia, who clocked 63:21 and Lilian Kasait Rengeruk of Kenya, who ran 63:32. Altogether, the trio went No.2, No.3 and No.4 on the world all-time rankings.
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