Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Could Ethiopian Letesenbet perform miracles at the Valencia Marathon on December 4?

In 2003, when Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe ran 2:15:25, the performance was considered off the scale. But that record stood for 16 years until 2019 when Kenyan Brigid Kosgei broke it in Chicago with her 2:14:04 running.
Ethiopian Tigist Assefa ran 2:15:37 followed by 28 year-old Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich’s astonishing 2:14:28 at Chicago on October 9th.
Regardless of how stunning these athletes are in their ability to run the marathon and half marathon, they will all be looking out for Ethiopian Letesenbet5 Gidey, who may just crush all distance records.
Letesenbet Gidey has run a mixed half marathon (men and women in the same race) in the time of 62:52 in Valencia in 2021. It is the world record. There is, however, a separate world record for women’s only race performances, and that one is currently held by Jepchirchir from the Gdynia.
Gidey’s half-marathon record carries a World Athletics points performance rating of 1281. Her 10,000m world record rating is much better at 29:01.03. At the Hengelo Diamond League meet she won, of course, and that performance is rated at 1303 points.
A 1303 performance in the half marathon is equal to a 61:53 for women. The marathon equivalent is 2:13:21.
Adding nine percent to Eluid Kepchoge’s record of 2:01:09 would put the women’s time at 2:13:05 a case of the women catching up to the men, this time; or one particular unusually great male marathon runner.

Hot this week

Production up, but the ‘cost’ variable weighs heavily

Production is up in 2021 for the Italian agricultural...

Luminos Fund’s catch-up education programs in Ethiopia recognized

The Luminos Fund has been named a top 10...

Well-planned cities essential for a resilient future in Africa concludes the World Urban Forum

The World Urban Forum (WUF) concluded today with a...

Private sector deemed key to unlocking AfCFTA potential

The private sector’s role is vital to fully unlock...

Ethiopia Secures Deal to Restructure Eurobond Notes due 2024

Ethiopia has reached agreement in principle with Ad Hoc...

US to withdraw from dozens of UN, international organisations

United States President Donald Trump has announced that he...

At least 22 Ethiopian migrants killed in ‘horrific’ road crash

At least 22 migrants have been killed and 65...

Intra-African Trade Hits $220.3 Billion, but AfCFTA Rollout Lags

Africa is being urged to speed up implementation of...

China’s Top Diplomat Tours Africa with Focus on Strategic Trade Routes

China's top diplomat began his annual New Year tour...

Abebe Aemro Selassie to Retire as Director of the African Department at the IMF

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund...

Election Board Launches Digital Voter and Candidate Registration System

The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has launched...

Global Cooperation Is Showing Resilience in the Face of Geopolitical Headwinds

Global cooperation is proving resilient even as multilateralism continues...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img