Yomif Kejelcha set a new world record for the Half Marathon in Valencia

The Ethiopian athlete Yomif Kejelcha set a new Half Marathon world record this Sunday in Valencia by stopping the clock in 57.30 in a race held in the rain and where He ran out of hares after three kilometersbut where, in an epic ending, achieved the best mark in the history of the distance.

The Ethiopian, after leaving behind his last teammates in a brilliant sprint at kilometer 15was able to lower by one second the 57.31 set by Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon in 2021 to set a new record in a test compiled as one of the best in the world.

In the mist, very light wind and twelve degrees, the president of the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, Juan Roigpressed the button that started the first of six exits into which the twenty-five thousand athletes participating in the test were divided. Five minutes later, the mayor María José Cataláhe gave the second one.

As agreed, The hares firmly established the leading group by completing the first kilometer in 2 minutes and 44 seconds with the big favourites, Kejelcha and his compatriot Selemon Barega, comfortably behind them.

Kejelcha’s pace was so difficult that when they had gone less than four kilometers, the hares ‘fell’ from the leading group.a bad situation that messed up the race.

An open front, looks like no confidence and wet floor Their record aspirations became complicated but time said it was possible and the Ethiopian did not give up.

In the middle of the test Only the two favorites and Kenyan Daniel Mateiko remain in the lead and the time, 27.12, is four seconds below the current record. The group stayed as long as Kejelcha wanted, until kilometer 15 when, in heavier rain, He left his companions in a wild sprint to the ‘gargoyle bridge’.

Single and with career success ‘secure’, Kejelcha He gritted his teeth in a toss-up final for the world record which he finally achieved by just one second. From the back, he entered almost a minute later Mateko with a score of 58.17.