Kwizera breaks Spain's half marathon record in Valencia, Chepkirui wins in 1:03:51

A new Spanish record in Valencia

Rodrigue Kwizera won the Medio Maratón Trinidad Alfonso Zurich in Valencia on Sunday, 25 October, finishing in 58:03 and taking the Spanish men's record from Carlos Mayo, whose 59:39 was set on the same course in 2023. Born in Burundi and now a Spanish national, Kwizera trains under Lluís Torlà and entered with the best mark in the field. The race drew 26,500 runners who started in seven waves five minutes apart, under excellent weather. It came a little over a month before the Valencia Marathon, set for early December.

The men's race

Two pacemakers set the early pace, and a lead group of nine formed from the first kilometre and held the front for the first half hour. Kwizera took control and did not give it up, while the group thinned with each kilometre. At 15 kilometres only five athletes were left, including Kwizera, Thierry Ndikumwenayo, Tadese Worku, Owen Kapkama and Victor Kipruto. Ndikumwenayo, his Playas de Castellón teammate, is a European cross-country champion and a 10,000 m bronze medallist on the track. In the final 2,000 metres Kwizera accelerated, and only Ndikumwenayo and Kipruto could follow. In the last half kilometre he pulled clear and crossed the line alone, with Ndikumwenayo second in 58:09 and Kipruto third in 58:12.

Records and the European mark

Kwizera's 58:03 is three seconds faster than the European best of 58:06 set by Andreas Almgren in Copenhagen this year, but it cannot be counted as a European record yet. World Athletics has not issued the international transfer that would recognise him for international records, so he can compete as a Spaniard in national events while the mark stands only as a Spanish record. Before the race he had said he wanted to go under 58 minutes. EL PAÍS describes him as the seventh-fastest runner in the history of the distance. He has also finished second at this race in 2025, and he is set to make his marathon debut in Boston on 19 April 2027.

Women's race and Spanish results

Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won in 1:03:51, with her compatriot Diana Wanza one second behind in 1:03:52 and Daisilah Jerono third in 1:04:11. Chepkirui attacked in the final kilometre, and Wanza came back strongly in the closing metres, but Chepkirui held on. The winning time is the best world mark of the year and the seventh-fastest in the history of the distance. Meritxell Soler led the Spanish women early, but Laura Luengo produced a strong finish to take 20th place in 1:08:28, two seconds under the Spanish record Carla Gallardo had held since 29 March. Soler and Irene Sánchez-Escribano both finished in 1:08:47. Luengo had been left out of Spain's marathon squad for the European Championships in Birmingham and the London Marathon because of bursitis, and after the race she said:

It has been a complicated year, with very bad luck when I was about to compete, and for me this record has been something incredible.

She said the race was very tough but that running alongside other Spanish athletes had helped, and that the marathon is now her main goal.

Portuguese runners in Valencia

Two Portuguese runners also raced in Valencia. Duarte Gomes, of Sporting, finished 17th in 1:00.43, the second-best Portuguese time in the half marathon, behind only Samuel Barata. He passed the 1:00.56 set by Luís Jesus in 1997, which had held second place since then. Rui Pinto finished 20th in 1:01.21, improving his personal best of 1:01.52 by more than 30 seconds and entering the Portuguese all-time top 10.