Rebecca Chelangat sets new course record in Seville

Chelangat led the pack of elite women from the start, and the she broke up in the last 5 kilometres where she began to lead alone the race, to cross the finish line alone. Her compatriot Annet Chelangat was second, just under a minute behind (1:08:12), and the young Ethiopian Yalganesh Eskarmech Gedefa was third with 1:08:50, completing the podium of the race in Seville, the flattest half marathon in Europe.

The first Spanish finisher was eighth-placed Ester Navarrete with 1:10:43, seven seconds ahead of Meritxell Soler, the second Spanish runner with 1:10:55 (ninth overall).

In the men’s category, the victory went to Vinicent Nyamongo Nyageo with 59:33, the third best time in history on the asphalt of Seville. The Kenyan broke the race at the 11th kilometre and led the race alone until the finish line, chased by the French athlete Felix Bour, who was finally second less than 30 seconds behind the African. Valentin Gondouin, also fron France, took the third place (1:00:17) after beating Ireland’s Hiko Tonosa Haso, fourth, who equalled his country’s record with a time of 1:00:51. Pablo Sánchez was the first Spaniard in the classification, eleventh overall, with a time of 1:02:13.

In the wheelchair category, as in the last two years, Joaquín García Díaz (1:01:21) won again.

Today’s race was the 30th edition of the Seville Half Marathon, organised by the San Pablo Athletics Club with the collaboration of the Seville City Council. It has gathered 17,000 runners, beating its historical record of participation, with 30% of women in the starting line and more than 3,000 foreigners. It is the flattest half marathon in Europe with only 5 metres elevation difference between its lowest and highest point, making it a very favourable course for achieving great times over the distance.