World 10km record holder to run in Durban
ETHIOPIA’S 10km world record holder Yalemzerf Yehualaw will headline the women’s race at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday, July 9.
Her world record stands at 29:14 and was set in Spain in 2022.
“This is massive news for the series and for SA road running. Not only is Yalemzerf Yehualaw’s entry into the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K the highest point for the series to date, but it’s also a fantastic accomplishment for South African sport,” said Michael Meyer, the managing director of Stillwater Sports and founder of the Absa Run Your City Series.
“We’ve seen the level of South African middle-distance running improve immensely over the last couple of years. This can be attributed to the fact that South Africa’s elites are being given more opportunities to race against the world’s best athletes on home soil. With a world record behind her name, lovers of the sport will see the world’s best female runner compete in Durban. We can’t wait to welcome Yalemzerf to the start line.”
This year, in Valencia, she missed her own world record by five seconds, clocking 29:19.
Yehualaw’s track record speaks for itself – bronze at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2020, gold over the same distance at the All-African Games, and winner of the 2022 London Marathon. At 23 she is an established global superstar of road running. She also holds the second fastest half-marathon time (63:51) ever run.
Yehualaw’s entry into the Absa
Run Your City Durban 10K means that she is the fastest ever woman to line up in the series.
Yehualaw is the latest in a string of world champions, Olympic champions or world record holders to descend on the Absa Run Your City Series, with athletes like Joshua Cheptegei and Daniel Ebenyo among others to have already raced in the series.
There is a strong possibility that the fastest ever time set by a woman on South African and African soil will be set at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on July 9. The series boasts a combined prize purse of R1 560 000. To view the prize purse breakdown visit https:// runyourcityseries.com/