Ethiopia’s Kejelcha Sets New Half Marathon World Record
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha was in his best elements to break the men’s half-marathon world record on Sunday.
He completed the 21.0975 km distance in 57 minutes and 30 seconds, overcoming high humidity conditions in Valencia.
Despite initially trailing the leaders, Kejelcha closed the gap by the end and secured his win.
This half-marathon marked the sixth of his career.
The previous men’s half-marathon world record was held by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, who completed the distance in Lisbon three years ago, taking one second longer than Kejelcha.
Kejelcha set the world indoor mile record in 2019 and is also a former world championship silver medalist in the 10,000 meters.
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He defeated away from Kenyans Daniel Mateiko and Isaia Kipkoech to win the race in record time.
Kejelcha admitted that the race was tough but he is delighted to set a new world record.
He said, “This race wasn’t easy, today I told myself to do it in 57 minutes, and I saw from the clock on the lead car that it was possible, despite the rain. I wanted to break the world record, and I’m really happy I did it.
“At 15km, I was confident, and I thought I could get the record. But by 18km and 19km, I started to get nervous because the pace changed, so it was a big challenge. The rain and tight turns also made it difficult.
“The half marathon world record was my dream, and I beat it, I’m very happy.”
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The women’s race was won by Agnes Ngetich of Kenya, who moved to second in the world all-time rankings with a time 63:04.
Ngetich was proud of her performance on her debut with a second fastest time.
She said, “I’m really happy, and so proud that I achieved the second fastest time ever on my debut, Valencia will always have a special place in my heart because it’s where I set my world record in the 10km.
“Running fast for the first 10km wasn’t an error, it was done consciously to try to win. It’s a great achievement for me. I ran a good time, despite the rain. Someday I’ll try again to get the record, hopefully in Valencia.”