The Valencia Marathon record that was set by Kelvin Kiptum was smashed on Sunday, December 3 by Ethiopian athlete Sisay Lemma.
Lemma was crowned the winner after clocking one minute and 48 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Alexander Mutiso who came in second in a personal best time of 2:03:11 while another Ethiopian Dawit Wolde was third in 2:03:48.
In an interview after the race, Mutiso explained that he decided to keep with his pace after dropping from the winning position.
That enabled him to come in second in the race in Spain.
“I wasn’t worried when I was dropped and my plan was to follow with my own pace and it worked well for me because I managed to surge forward in the last few kilometres and emerged second,” stated Mutiso.
In the women’s race, Worknesh won after clocking 2:15:51 ahead of compatriots Almaz Ayana (2:16:22) and Hiwot Gebrekidon (2:17:59).
Kenya recorded a dismal performance after Celestine Chepchirchir came in fourth place after clocking 2:20:46.
The race was used by most athletes to prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
