the kenyans Dominick Kipkirui, with a time of 1h03:14 in the men’s category, and Nancy Jepleting, with 1h12:41 in the women’s, won the 23rd edition of the Terrassa International Half Marathon both beat the test record.
Undoubtedly, despite the extreme cold endured by the 2,500 athletes on the starting line (about 4ºC and humidity of 72%), This has been the best edition in the history of the race with the highest level of organization.
At the start, two Kenyan riders Dominick Kipkirui and Peter Kariuki Wanjiru set a strong pace, followed only by the Ukrainian Mykola Nyzhnyk, the Moroccan Mourad El Bannouri and the Spanish Xavi Tomasa.
At kilometer 10, Kipkirui marked 29:42, Kariuki, 30:19, Nyzhnyk, 31:15, El Bannouri, 32:02 and Tomasa, Catalan Marathon champion, closed the group in 32:42.
The race was decided in Kipkirui’s favor at kilometer 15which covered 45:17, followed by Kariuki in 42 seconds (45:59) and Nyzhnyk by more than two minutes (47:33).
Dominick Kipkirui, 26, with a best mark of 1h01:15, achieved at the Santa Pola Half Marathon (Alicante) on January 22, won in 1h03:14, reducing the time by 16 seconds. race record, held since 2016 by Carles Castillejo with a time of 1:03:30. Peter Kariuki was second, with 1:04:23, and the third place on the podium was occupied by Olympic Mykola Nyzhnyk (1:06:16).
21-year-old Kenyan, Nancy Jepleting, won the women’s category with a time of 1h.12:40breaking the trial record established in 1h.14:21 by the Moroccan Soukaina Atanane in the last edition.
Jepleting commanded from the start, with a close match against Ukrainian Olympian Olga Nyzhnyk, 32, bronze in 10,000 meters at the European Championships and passed kilometer 15 in 52:24 and 53:02, respectively.
From that moment, the African rhythm was devastating to win in the aforementioned 1h.12:40, overtaking Nyzhnyk by 1:30, second in 1h.14:11.
Third is the French Aude Korotchansky, with 1h.15:46. The first Spanish, in fifth position, was María Ruiz from Egar with 1h.22:15.
In the Cursa Santi Centelles over 5 km, the winner of the men’s category, who repeated his victory last year, was the Spanish Moroccan Yassine Ouhdadi, Paralympic champion of 5,000 meters in the category of visually impaired athletes at Tokyo 2020, with a time of 15:37. In the women’s category, the win went to Spaniard Marta Romero, with 19:12.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
