© Copyright – 2026 – Athletics Illustrated
Kenyan distance runner Lilian Kasait announced her arrival in the marathon when she won the Daegu Marathon on Sunday in Daegu, South Korea.
Kasait fell within the final half kilometre to go on to win the race in a time of 2:19:31. She outkicked Ethiopia’s Meseret Belete, who finished in 2:19:52 in second place. Fellow Kenyan Evaline Chirchir took third place in 2:20:42.
Lilian Kasait falls down in the last 400m of Daegu Marathon, and still got up to win it! pic.twitter.com/UmTWdgAU9P
— Justin Lagat (@LagatJustin) February 22, 2026
Despite the fall, Kasait seemed fine and collected after. “I fell okay, I fell, and I have some bruises, but it’s part of the race. I thank God I had a good finish and won the race,” she said.
The 28-year-old made her half-marathon debut in Valencia 2024, where she secured third place, stopping the clock at 1:03:32. In that race, she trailed fellow Kenyan Agnes Ngetich, who won in 1:03:04 and Ethiopian Fotyen Tesy who took second in 1:03:21.
In the men’s race, Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay won in 2:08:09, finishing in a virtual tie with Ethiopia’s Chimdesa Gudeta, who is credited with the same time. Josphat Gisemo of Tanzania clocked 2:08:16 for third place.
Results
Top-10 men
| POS. | NAME | COUNTRY | TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gabriel Gerald Geay | Tanzania | 2:08:08 |
| 2 | Chimdesa Debele Gudeta | Ethiopia | 2:08:08 |
| 3 | Emmanuel Daoudi Dinday | Tanzania | 2:08:16 |
| 4 | Samsom Amare Hailemikael | Eritrea | 2:08:38 |
| 5 | Gerba Beata Dibaba | Ethiopia | 2:10:02 |
| 6 | Stanley Kiprotic Bet | Kenya | 2:10:31 |
| 7 | Gosa Ambelu Chala | Ethiopia | 2:10:55 |
| 8 | Degenere Megersa Moreta | Ethiopia | 2:11:07 |
| 9 | Charles Kiprotich Rono | Kenya | 2:11:37 |
| 10 | Leonard Chemongues | Uganda | 2:14:29 |
Top-10 women
| POS. | NAME | COUNTRY | TIME |
| 1 | Lilian Kasait | Kenya | 2:19:31 |
| 2 | Meseret Belete | Ethiopia | 2:19:51 |
| 3 | Evaline Chirchir | Kenya | 2:20:47 |
| 4 | Khufu Tahir Dadiso | Ethiopia | 2:28:19 |
| 5 | Obseni Getacher Isle | Ethiopia | 2:28:25 |
| 6 | Kebene Challah | Ethiopia | 2:28:36 |
| 7 | Choi Jeong-yoon | South Korea | 2:32:33 |
| 8 | Hisigsaihan Galbadrach | Mongolia | 2:36:37 |
| 9 | Lee Su-min | South Korea | 2:39:16 |
| 10 | Kim Eun-mi | South Korea | 2:39:28 |
*Cover photo credit to: Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon 2025.
