Kenyan Runner Breaks Women's 10km Record

Spain won the Valencia Ibercaja 2024 with a time of 28 minutes and 46 seconds, 22-year-old athlete Agnes Ngetich broke the women's 10km world record.

On the Valencia track on January 14, Ngetich clocked a pace of 2:53, or an average of 2 minutes 58 seconds per kilometer. With that, she became the first female athlete to run under 29 minutes over 10 kilometers, 28 seconds faster than the 10-kilometer world record in a mixed race set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia in Castellon, Valencia two years ago.

Ngetich finished first, setting a women's 10km world record at Valencia Ibercaja 2024 on January 14. Photo: 10K Valencia Ibercaja — Ngetich finished first, setting a women's 10km world record at Valencia Ibercaja 2024 on January 14. Photo: *10K Valencia Ibercaja*

Ngetich's latest achievement is also faster than the women's 10km world record on the indoor track of 29 minutes 1.03 seconds, set by Letesenbet Gidey in June 2021. She achieved this achievement at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadium in Hengelo, Netherlands, during the Ethiopian Olympic Trials.

"I set a goal to break the world record when I came to this race, and my 28 minutes and 46 seconds exceeded all expectations," Ngetich choked up. "When I reached 14 minutes and 13 seconds at the halfway point, I wasn't scared at all, I just pushed myself to keep trying until the end. I have no words to describe my feelings right now."

After breaking the women's 10km world record, the Kenyan runner said she would now aim for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in March and then the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ngetich, born in 2001, is a promising long-distance runner for Kenya, having won the 5,000m at the Kenya U20 African Qualifiers. She finished fifth at the Kenya Cross Country Championships held at Iten Grounds in Elgeyo Marakwet County in November 2021, and second to Sheila Chepkirui at the Brasov 10km Road Running Festival in Brasov, Romania in September 2022.

On February 18, 2023, the 22-year-old runner won a bronze medal in the individual event and a gold medal in the team event at the World Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst, Australia.

Seven months later, she set the 5km and 10km world records at the Transylvania 10K in Brasov, but the course was disqualified because it was not up to standard. The race announced on Facebook that the course was 25 metres shorter than their usual certified lap. When any world record is broken, International Athletics requires the course to be remeasured to ensure it meets the standard distance.

Kenyan Runner Breaks Women's 10km Record — The moment Ngetich set a record.

At Valencia Ibercaja 2024 on January 14, behind Ngetich was Emmaculate Anyango - an Ethiopian runner who also finished under 29 minutes in 28 minutes 57 seconds. Lilian Rengeruk of Kenya finished third in 29 minutes 32 seconds.

In the men's race, Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo won in a personal best (PB) of 26 minutes 48 seconds, the fifth-best time in history. Kiplimo holds the half marathon record of 57 minutes 31 seconds at Lisbon 2021.

Behind Kiplimo was Bahrain's Birhanu Balew also clocking a PB in 26 minutes 58 seconds, while Kenya's Peter Mwaniki Njeru was third in 26 minutes 59 seconds.

In his first 10km run, Andreas Almgren finished sixth in 27 minutes 20 seconds to break the Swedish record. Spain's Abdessamad Oukhelfen also set a national record of 27 minutes 44 seconds, but finished outside the top 10.

Hong Duy

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