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Ethiopian clocks 57:30 to take one second off Jacob Kiplimo’s mark as Agnes Ngetich runs 63:04 to win the 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.
Yomif Kejelcha’s Record-Breaking Half-Marathon Victory in Valencia
Yomif 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.
Yomif Kejelcha (Getty)
Runner-up was Daniel Mateiko of Kenya at 58:17 Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi of Kenya was third at 58:21. Gemechu Dida of Ethiopia followed in fourth at 58:39 with Vicent Langat of Kenya fifth at 58:41, Selemon Barega of Ethiopia sixth in 58:57 and Birhanu Balew of Bahrain seventh in 59:41.
Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia set the women’s world record of 62:52 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.
Agnes Ngetich
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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.
Before this weekend, Yalemzerf Yehualaw, the Ethiopian who won the Amsterdam Marathon earlier this month, held the second-fastest women’s half-marathon in history, with a time of 63:51.
Behind Ngetich, Tesfay, and Rengeruk, Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia was fourth in 64:14 with Tsigie Gebreselama of Ethiopia fifth in 65:18.
Clara Evans, the top Brit at the Olympic marathon, finished 14th in 69:00 as she took more than a minute off her best with fellow Brits Natasha Phillips (70:18), Hannah Irwin (70:49), and Jenny Nesbitt (71:32) also running PBs.
The home fans were also celebrating Kaoutar Boulaid as she set a Spanish women’s record 68:47.
Ethiopian sprinter Yomif Kejelcha made the most of each and every second as he broke the men’s half-long distance race record by only one second Sunday.
Yomif Kejelcha completed unequivocally in the Spanish city of Valencia to establish a point in time of 57 minutes, 30 seconds, thumping a solitary second in a private set in 2021 by Ugandan sprinter Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon, Portugal.
The 27-year-old’s parts were surprisingly predictable, running the initial 5 kilometers in 13:38, going through the following five in 13:34, 13:34, and 13:36. His 10km split was 27:12.
Yomif Kejelcha is a previous big showdown silver medallist in the 10,000 meters and holds the indoor world record for the mile, which he set in Boston in 2019.
Like all Olympic-style events records, Yomif Kejelcha’s will be dependent upon endorsement strategies before World Sports thinks of it as official.
It was the second time in succession that the record was bettered just barely.
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