The two big favourites, Ethiopians Hagos Gebrhiwet and Laice Chemnung, were the winners of the 36th edition of the Hyundai Mitja Marató de Barcelona by Brooks. The women’s course record was broken.
Men’s race
In the men’s races, Hagos Gebrhiwet led from gun to tape. He distanced himself from his main rivals from the very beginning of the race and set a pace that no one could match. For many kilometres, he was even running at times that suggested a sub-58-minute mark, although he ultimately crossed the finish line with a final time of 58:05, a fast performance and the current half-marathon lead for 2026. Swiss runner Dominic Lobalu finished second in 59:25, and Frenchman Emmanuel Roudolff third, clocking a 59:35 result.
Hagos Gebrhiwet said, “The race is beautiful, and the course is very fast, as I expected after seeing Jacob Kiplimo’s time last year. My first goal was to win, and I also wanted to break 58 minutes. I won the race and came close to my personal best, so I’m happy. It’s true that I did think about the record, but towards the end I started to feel the fatigue, and the wind in the final stretch made things difficult, because I was running the perfect race to attack the world record.”
Women’s race
In the women’s race, Kenyan Loice Chemnung won decisively with a final time of 1:04:00, securing not only the victory but also setting the sixth fastest time in history and the record for the Barcelona race, beating the previous mark, set last year by Joyciline Jepkosgei, by 12 seconds. American Weini Kelati finished second in 1:06:03, and fellow Ethiopian Diniya Abaraya took third place in 1:06:27.
In addition to the men’s best time of the year and the women’s course record, the Hyundai Half Marathon by Brooks witnessed several national records. Among them was Australian Jack Rayner, who finished sixth and achieved his goal of breaking the Australian national record with a time of 59:51, shaving six seconds off the previous mark.
Loice Chemnungshared “The course is very fast and very flat, ideal for achieving good times. I enjoyed it immensely, and the atmosphere was fantastic. Thank you all so much. I hope to return to Barcelona. I’m very happy, I achieved the victory and also the course record. To be honest, I wasn’t aware of it, but I’m very happy about it.”
Top-10 results
MEN
1 – Hagos Gebrhiwet — 58:05
2 – Dominic Lobalu — 59:26
3 – Emmanuel Roudolff — 59:37
4 – Samwel Nyamai — 59:42
5 – Hagos Eyob — 59:42
6 – Jack Rayner — 59:53
7 – Amos Kipkemoi — 59:53
8 – Zak Mahamed — 1:00:46
9 – Hassan Chahdi — 1:01:05
10 – Seare Weldezghi — 1:01:07
WOMEN
1 – Loice Chemnung — 1:04:01
2 – Weini Kelati — 1:06:04
3 – Diniya Abaraya — 1:06:28
4 – Taylor Roe — 1:06:52
5 – Magdalyne Yeko — 1:07:42
6 – Domenika Mayer — 1:08:08
7 – Netsanet Desta — 1:08:10
8 – Mekdes Woldu — 1:08:36
9 – Samantha Harrison — 1:09:00
10- Melody Julien — 1:09:39
