On February 10, Beijing time, the World Athletics Federation approved two new world records for the men's half marathon and the women's half marathon. The new men's half-horse world record was set by Uganda's Kiplimo in Lisbon, Portugal, on November 21 last year, and the women's half-horse world record was set by Ethiopian Star Gidi on October 24, 2021 in Valencia, Spain.
The 23-year-old Isaac, the bronze medalist in the women's 10,000 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the world record holder in the women's 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, set a new 12-year women's 5,000 meters world record in October 2020 with a record of 14:06.62, and in June 2021, she set a women's 10,000 meters world record with a time of 29:01.03.
She made her debut in the half marathon in Valencia last October, becoming the first woman in the event to break the 63-point mark. The final result was 1 hour 02 minutes and 52 seconds, shortening the original world record of 1 hour 04 minutes and 02 seconds set by world champion and Kenyan star Che Pugittic on April 4, 2021. Valencia is also a blessing for Gidey, as her 5,000m world record was also set here.
Gidey said: "I knew I could run out of time like this because my altitude training in Addis Ababa was very smooth. I'll be running all marathons in the future, but I'm not sure if it's before or after the 2024 Paris Olympics. ”
Less than a month after Gidi set the women's half-horse world record, Kiplimo also set a new men's half-horse world record, which he set at the half marathon in Lisbon, Portugal, on 21 November 2021. The 21-year-old Ugandan youngster ran 57 minutes and 31 seconds at the time, averaging 2 minutes and 43 seconds per kilometer, winning the championship by absolute superiority. That was a 1 second faster than the previous world record set by Kenyan star Candy at Valencia.
In the race, Kiplimo made a good start to a new record with 27 minutes and 05 seconds when completing the 10 km, and 40 minutes and 27 seconds in the 15 km, the fastest time in this distance, 38 seconds faster than the 15 km world record held by compatriot Chepte. Although the final stage was dropped due to lack of competition, a new world record was finally spelled out.
Kiplimo, third in the men's 10,000m at the Olympics, said: "With one kilometre left, I knew I was going to break the world record. When I saw the clock on the final straight, I went all in and told myself to sprint quickly to the finish line. ”