He failed to regain the world record at the Valencia men’s Half Marathon but enjoyed top-level racing. Kibiwot Kandie achieved its third victory in the city and with the historic Spanish record of Carlos Mayo, who managed to surpass Fabián Roncero’s best record after 22 years.
It didn’t take long for the race to end as four of the big favorites were left alone in the first kilometres, with passing times always close to the world record.. Of course, like last year’s test winner Kibiwot Kandie herself, time only dropped them below the record pace starting from kilometer 10, by a margin of a second, which could be worth its weight in gold. Register after the second month.
He and Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha, Selemon Barega and Hagos Gebrhiwet were the only ones left in the fight for victory.Shortly after the halfway point of the test, the pace increased to six seconds below the world record at kilometer 12.
An atmosphere that invites us to be optimistic but gets worse with the passing kilometersHe reached the point of arrival with a 7-second disadvantage compared to the record at the 15th kilometer.
But, The news was better for Carlos Mayo, who was already seeking a Spanish record that stood for 22 years.Not since Fabián Roncero achieved this feat in Berlin in 2001 with a time of 59:52.
With just over two kilometers to go, Kejelcha appeared to have overtaken the leading group. Hagos Gebrhiwet and Kandie As the only rival that can keep up with him Selemon Barega was unhooked a few meters away. Everything showed that the sprint between these three players ended with maximum emotion, without a fight for the world record. And all Selemon Barega tries to approach the leading group again but ultimately fails.
And the real moment came with the attack of Kibiwot Kandie, who broke the race in the final meters and took the lead in Valencia for the third time. Yomif Kejelcha is only 8 seconds away from the world record. And all this happened in a race where as many as five athletes lowered their best mark of the year.
spanish record
A few minutes later, Carlos Mayo crossed the finish line to make history by bettering Spain’s 22-year-old record. This success put the final touch on the men’s race with an unofficial time of 59:38.