Kenya's Kibiwott Kandie won the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday and broke the half marathon world record time in the process. Kandie finished the race in 57:32 to take home the victory and top the existing record of 58:01, which Geoffrey Kamworor set in 2019.
Kandie beat his personal record by over a minute and was one of four runners to top the previous record of 58:01. Jacob Kiplimo, Rhonex Kipruto and Alexander Mutiso also came in with times under 58 minutes.
"To break the record by 30 seconds is a very great achievement and I'm glad to make Kenya very happy," Kandie said, according to The Guardian.
🔝 🥇 RÉCORD DEL MUNDO para Kibiwott Kandie en el medio maratón. #VamosMaratónValencia pic.twitter.com/7K60QKESH8
— #Vamos de Movistar+ (@vamos) December 6, 2020
Kandie's recent dominance is not limited to the Valencia Half Marathon, as his times at the Ras Al Khaimah, Prague and Gdynia half marathons this year have all been sub-59 minutes.
On the women's side, Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia won with a time of 1:04:18, a course record. She missed the women's world record in a mixed race, currently held by Ababel Yeshaneh, by 13 seconds.
In the full version of the Valencia Marathon, Kenya's Evans Chebet finished victorious with a course record of 2:03:00. Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir won the women's race in a course record time of 2:17:16.
Kandie's world record time is subject to the ratification process by World Athletics before it becomes official.
