Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha broke the world half marathon record* at the Medio Maratón de Valencia Trinidad Alfonso Zurich on Sunday (27) and the time was 57:30. World Athletics Gold Label road racing.

In his sixth appearance over the distance, the 27-year-old world indoor kilometer record holder fell one second short of the world record set by Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon three years ago.

The world record looked to be under threat for much of the women’s race, but Agnes Ngetich eventually broke through by just 11 seconds and crossed the line in 1:03:03, the second-fastest performance in history. distance.

With light rain and temperatures around 15 degrees, the men’s race started quickly, covering the first kilometer with pacemakers in 2:43. They struggled to maintain this but Kejelecha broke into the lead just before the third kilometer and took command of the race, followed by Ethiopian Selemon Barega and Kenyans Daniel Mateiko, Edward Cheserek, Weldon Langat and Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi.

The six-man lead group passed the 5-kilometer checkpoint at 13:38, with Kejelcha leading. His relentless rhythm soon paid off and after 22 minutes the lead was down to three as only Mateiko and Lasoi managed to stay with him.

They passed 10 km in 27:12 and went on to break the course record, but in the following kilometers the pace dropped slightly and in 13:44 the section between 10 km and 15 km put the world record in jeopardy.

Sensing that the world record was at risk of slipping, Kejelcha increased the pace and broke away from Mateiko and Lasoi with ease. In the time trial, the two-time world indoor champion crossed the finish line in 57:30, breaking the world record by one second and her PB by 11 seconds.

After trying to stay alongside Kejelcha for most of the race, both Mateiko and Lasoi lost a lot of ground in the closing stages but retained second and third place. Mateiko improved her PB to 58:17, while Lasoi clocked 58:21 in his fifth half marathon of the season.

Ethiopian Gemechu Dida finished fourth with a time of 58:39, just ahead of Kenyan Vincent Kibet Langat (58:41), who participated in the half marathon for the first time. Barega was the sixth and last person to finish the race in 59 minutes with a time of 58:57.

Although this was her first attempt at the distance, there were rumors on the eve of the competition about Agnes Ngetich’s chances of breaking a world record in Valencia. Any questions about his intentions were answered when the 25-year-old covered the 5-kilometer distance in 14:38 with Ethiopian Ejgayehu Taye on his shoulder; both were well clear of Kenya’s Lllian Rengeruk (14:55) and Ethiopian duo Fotyen. Tesfay and Tsige Gebreselama (14:57).

Ngetich and former world 5km record holder Taye continued their 2:56/km pace, reaching 10km in 29:18 – a time only three women have ever covered that distance – but Taye began to lose ground after about seven minutes.

Meanwhile, Ngetich continued to run behind his two pacemakers, but his pace began to drop as he covered the next 5 kilometers in 14:57. His pace dropped to 3:00/km, indicating that his world record was on the decline, but he continued to pull away from his rivals. Meanwhile, Taye was passed by Tesfay and Rengeruk before the 18 km mark.

Running on heavy legs, Ngetich managed to hold on for victory in 1:03:04. Tesfay improved his previous best by five minutes to take second place with 1:03:21, while Rengeruk took third place with 1:03:32. This meant that the podium finishers were placed second, third and fourth respectively on the world all-time list.

The tiring Taye managed to finish fourth in his half marathon debut in 1:04:14; That’s still enough for him to rank in the top 10 on the world all-time list.

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Leading results

Women
1 Agnes Ngetich (KEN) 1:03:04
2 Fotyen Tesfay (ETH) 1:03:21
3 Lilian Kasait (KEN) 1:03:32
4 Ejgayehu Taye (ETH) 1:04:14
5 Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH) 1:05:18
6 Sheila Chelangat (KEN) 1:06:08
7 Jesca Chelangat (KEN) 1:06:13
8 Viola Chepngeno (KEN) 1:06:55

men
1 Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 57:30
2 Daniel Mateiko (KEN) 58:17
3 Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi (KEN) 58:21
4 Gemechu Dida (ETH) 58:39
5 Vincent Langat (KEN) 58:41
6 Selemon Barega (ETH) 58:57
7 Birhanu Balew (BRN) 59:41
8 Thierry Ndikumwenayo (ESP) 59:42