NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 15 – Kenya’s Weldon Kipkorir Langat clocked 26:55 to win the Valencia Ibercaja 10km race on Sunday in the Spanish city.
The 2021 Villa da Laredo 10km champion lead a clean podium sweep for the country as his compatriots, Charles Langat and Daniel Kosen clocked personal bests of 26:57 and 27:01 to finish second and third respectively.
Langat’s win in Spain was poetic justice for the Tokyo Olympian whose last visit to the city yielded a disappointing 10th place finish at the Valencia Half Marathon in October last year.
World 5000m silver medalist Jacob Krop could not improve on his third-place finish at last year’s edition of the same race, clocking 27:04 in fifth.
However, his time was much improved from last year where he clocked a personal best of 27:23 in the same race.
In the women’s race, StanChart Marathon 10km champion Jesca Chelangat timed a personal best of 30:01 to finish second, ahead of fellow countrywoman, Esther Birundu Borura who clocked 30:15 in third.
The two were no match for world 10km record holder Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia who came within five seconds of smashing her own record, timing 29:19 in first.
Yehualaw, who set the world record at last year’s Castellon 10km race in Spain, inherited the title from two-time world 10,000m bronze medalist Agnes Tirop of Kenya who timed 30:01 at the Adizero Roads to Records race in Germany in September 2021.
