Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir lowered her own women’s-only world record, while Ugandan track star Joshua Cheptegei was beaten at the world half marathon championships in Gdynia, Poland on Saturday.
Jepchirchir lowered her mark by 18 seconds, clocking 1:05:16 to win by two seconds over German Melat Kejeta. On Sept. 5, Jepchirchir, 27, took 37 seconds off Ethiopian Netsanet Gudeta‘s mark from 2018.
The top six women on Saturday all went faster than Gudeta’s old world record.
The current and former overall world-record holders in mixed-gender races — Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh and Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei — fell together in the 11th mile and finished fifth and sixth. Yeshaneh’s record is 1:04:31.
Cheptegei, who broke the 5000m and 10,000m records on the track this year, took fourth in a men’s race won by 19-year-old countryman Jacob Kiplimo in 58:49. Cheptegei was making his half marathon debut.
The world championships were postponed from March 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic.