Kelvin Kiptum, Amane Beriso nearly break world records at Valencia Marathon

© Copyright – 2022 – Athletics Illustrated

Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum and Ethiopian Amane Beriso finished near the respective men’s and women’s marathon world records in the 2022 Valencia Marathon Sunday.

Fastest marathon debut ever by Letesenbet Gidey ⭐️
2:16:49 in the streets of Valencia! 🇪🇸#NNRunningTeam pic.twitter.com/8iOxEuVRU6

— NN Running Team (@NNRunningTeam) December 4, 2022

Kiptum won the men’s race in the time of 2:01:53, which is the fastest debut in history. He broke the race open with a move at 32 kilometres.

The 23-year-old ran the fastest second half of a marathon ever, recording a 60:15 and 28:05 from 30-40k.

He is the third athlete to break the 2:02 benchmark behind only Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele.

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey was expected to challenge Brigid Kosgei’s world record of 2:14:04 in her debut.

THe 24-year-old was on 2:14:10 pace up to 30k. However, surprisingly, Gidey was up against 31-year-old fellow Ethiopian Amane Beriso.

Beriso broke Gidey over the final kms and ended up winning in near world record pace going 2:14:58 to move to third on the world all-time list. Gidey faded over the final kms however, the debutant held on for a strong second-place finish in the time of 2:16:49. Gidey’s performance was also the fastest debut ever.