Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey smashes women's half-marathon world record

Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey. Picture: Eric Gaillard/Reuters

Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey. Picture: Eric Gaillard/Reuters

Published Oct 24, 2021

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Madrid, Spain - Letesenbet Gidey pulverised the women's half-marathon world record Sunday, slicing more than a minute off the previous mark when she won in Valencia.

Running in bright sunshine, it was the first half-marathon the 23-year-old Ethiopian had raced in and she added the record to her 5 000m and 10 000m world records.

Gidey timed 1:02.52 to better the previous time of 1:04.02 set by Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya in April 2021.

Valencia was also the scene of Gidey's 5 000m record in October 2020.

"Gracias Valencia," Gidey said at the finish line. "I'm so happy," she said, holding a sign saying "First woman in history under 63 minutes".

She ran the first 10km in 29:45 and then got even faster over the final section of the race.

AFP

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