Kenyan athletes claim victory in Istanbul Half Marathon
KENYAN runners Ruth Chepngetich and Kibiwott Kandie clinched the 16th edition of the İstanbul Half Marathon, an annual road running event that hosted thousands of athletes this year.
Chepngetich, 26, clocked the 21km run in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 2 seconds to break the world record in the women’s category.
“And the 26-year-old, in her first race of 2021, kept going all the way to cross the line at 64.02 — 29 seconds inside Ababel Yeshaneh’s February 2020 world record set in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE,” the Olympic Channel said in a statement.
Ethiopian athlete Yalemzerf Yehualaw was second in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 40 seconds, while
Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri came third in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 51 seconds.
Meanwhile, Kenyan athlete Kibiwott Kandie won the men’s category in a record 59 minutes and 35 seconds.
Geoffrey Kamworor trailed 0.3 seconds behind Kandie, and Roncer Kipkorir also from Kenya came third, 11 seconds behind the leader.
The İstanbul Half Marathon is among the top eight marathons in the world. A total of 4,000 athletes ran 21km on the streets of the Turkish metropolis.
The start and the finish line were located in Yenikapı Event Area on the city’s European side. The total prize money was $33,000.