Letesenbet Gidey breaks world record at Valencia Half Marathon

Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey smashed the world record on debut at the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday (October 24) clocking 1:02.52s.

Incidentally, Letesenbet Gidey broke the world record in 5,000m in Valencia last year.

Letesenbet Gidey beat the previous world record mark of 1:04:02s, set by world marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich, by more than a minute.

Paced by Mebrahtu Kiro, Letesenbet Gidey went through 5km in a swift 15:00 with her compatriot Yalemzerf Yehualaw running five meters down.

Yehualaw's recent 1:03:44 clocking in Larne could not be ratified as a world record due to the course being too short. She drifted further back over the next few kilometers as Letesenbet Gidey reached the 10km mark in 29:45.

It was the third-fastest clocking in history for the 10km distance and just seven seconds shy of the world record set by Kalkidan Gezahegne a few weeks ago.

Letesenbet Gidey wins in style

Letesenbet Gidey maintained her incredible pace and covered the next 5km segment in 14:44, bringing her to 15km in 44:29. It put her more than a minute inside the world record schedule.

Although her pace dropped very slightly in the last quarter of the race, she did more than enough to ensure victory in a world record time.

Letesenbet Gidey crossed the line in 1:02:52, adding a third world record to her name. It goes alongside the marks she owns for 5000m (14:06.62s) and 10,000m (29:01.03s).

In the men’s race, a resurgent Abel Kipchumba overtook fellow Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto in the closing stages to win in 58:07. It moved him to sixth on the world all-time list and helped in improving on his own world-leading mark from Herzogenaurach last month.

Kipruto was second in 58:09 and Daniel Mateiko third in 58:26. In a race of unprecedented depth, the top seven men finished inside 59 minutes.