Rodrigue Kwizera and Sheila Chepkirui win Valencia Half Marathon

© Copyright – 2026 – Athletics Illustrated

Spanish athlete Rodrigue Kwizera and Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui claimed victory at the 2026 Valencia Half Marathon, clocking 58:03 and 1:03:51, respectively.

Men’s race

Kwizera controlled the pace, leading the front pack through 15 kilometres in 41:32, on schedule for approximately 58:25. With less than a mile remaining, the lead group had dwindled to three: Kwizera, his training partner and fellow Spaniard Thierry Ndikumwenayo, and Kenya’s Victor Kipruto. The clock read 55:13.

Kwizera then unleashed a decisive kick, dropping his two rivals over the final kilometre to secure victory in 58:03. Ndikumwenayo finished second in a personal best of 58:09, with Kipruto third in 58:12. Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku clocked 58:33, while Kenya’s Owen Kapkama also broke 59 minutes, recording a personal best of 58:42.

Kwizera’s 58:03 is faster than the European record. However, the 27-year-old’s performance will not be recognized as a European record because his change of allegiance from Burundi to Spain, following his acquisition of Spanish citizenship earlier this year, has not yet been formalized.

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Twenty-seven-year-old Kwizera ran 58:16 in March this year at the Prague Half Marathon. It is the national record and his personal best.

Both Kwizera and Ndikumwenayo were born in Burundi before switching their athletic allegiance to Spain.

Aarón de las Heras was the first Spanish-born runner who clocked 1:00:07 for a new personal best time. He placed 13th.

Women’s race

Chepkirui’s world-leading performance for 2026 elevated her to a tie for fifth on the all-time half-marathon list.

Kenya’s Chepkirui broke away with compatriots Diana Wanza and Daisilah Jerono, with the trio reaching 15 kilometres in 45:31 and holding a lead of nearly 25 seconds over the chasing field.

Jerono began to lose contact before the 20-kilometre mark, where Chepkirui and Wanza passed in 1:00:30, seven seconds ahead of their compatriot.

The victory came down to a final sprint, with Chepkirui edging Wanza by a single second, 1:03:51 to 1:03:52. Both recorded personal bests, moving to fifth and sixth, respectively, on the all-time list.

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Jerono finished third in a personal best of 1:04:11, as all six leading women broke 65 minutes. Ethiopia’s Mizan Alem Senayet Getachew finished fourth in 1:04:54, followed by Kenya’s Caroline Gitonga in 1:04:59.

The 29-year-old Chepkirui entered the race with a personal best from May 2026 in Riga, Latvia, of 1:06:01 for a two-minute and 10-second personal best. She also ran a 1:06:13 in Buenos Aires in August, and a 1:06:08 in Prznan in April.

Laura Luengo was the first Spanish woman across the line, setting a national record of 1:08:28.

Results

Leading results women‘s half marathon