Kenya’s Jepchirchir half marathon world record ratified

Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir’s world record in the women-only half marathon was ratified by World Athletics on Monday.

Jepchirchir produced her record-breaking run on September 5 at the Prague 21.1KM, an invitational-only elite half marathon held on a 16.5-lap course in Letna Park in the Czech capital.

The 26-year-old Kenyan, who won the world half marathon title in 2016, was paced through the first five kilometres in about 15:20. She broke away from the rest of the lead pack just a few minutes later and reached 10km in 30:32.

Her pace slowed over the waning laps, most covered in just outside four minutes, but she held on to win in 1:05:34, finishing well inside the previous women-only world record of 1:06:11 set by Ethiopia’s Netsanet Gudeta at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia on 24 March 2018.

“I was hoping to run about 1:04:50, but I’m so happy,” said Jepchirchir, who set a world record of 1:05:06 in a mixed-gender race in Ras Al Khaimah in 2017, a mark which stood for seven weeks. “I was really tired in the last five kilometres.”

Jepchirchir will next be in action against Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan in the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on Saturday.

Hassan, also on Monday, had her one-hour (most distance run in an hour) world record ratified. Hassan managed an incredible 18 930m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on September 4.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo