Kenyan distance runner Abraham Kiptum set a new world best time of 58mins 18sec for the half-marathon when he won the Valencia race on Sunday.
The previous best time was set eight years ago by Ethiopia’s Zersenay Tadesse who ran the Lisbon half-marathon in 58min 23sec in March 2010.
The 29-year-old Kiptum came second in the Copenhagen half-marathon last month and has a personal best time of 2hrs 05mins 26sec for a marathon set at Amsterdam in October 2017.
“I can’t believe it, I’m over the moon,” Kiptum was quoted as saying by the IAAF website after setting the world record. “Obviously I knew I was in good shape because I set a personal best last month in Copenhagen but I was eager to run in Valencia because it’s one of the flattest circuits I’ve ever run and I was confident of improving on my best.”
Kiptum, who spends most of his time in his native Kenya, plans to run in the Abu Dhabi Marathon on December 7.
With inputs from AFP
