Kenyans John Korir and Joyciline Jepkosgei won the Valencia Marathon on Sunday in the times of 2:02:24 and 2:14:00, respectively.
Men’s race
Korir produced a dominating win against his fellow competitors at the Valencia Marathon. He crossed the finish line 1:39 ahead of second-place finisher Amanal Petros of Germany (2:04:03). Awet Kibrab of Norway clocked in 21 seconds back at 2:04:24.
For Korir, it was a new personal best performance, improving on his 2:02:44 from 2024 in Chicago. The 29-year-old may have had extra motivation this time as he had dropped out of the 2025 Chicago Marathon in October, missing his opportunity to defend.
John Korir flying at the @maratonvalencia 🔥
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 7, 2025
The Kenyan clocks 2:02:24 to move up to 8th on the marathon all-time list 👏 pic.twitter.com/WKIKaGlhOF
For Petros and Kibrab, who are both originally from Eritrea, Valencia represented new personal bests for both.
Interesting, Alex Yee of Great Britain, ran his second marathon and clocked a near five-minute PB. In April in London, the triathlon Paris Olympic gold medallist ran a 2:11:08. In Valencia, he became the fastest triathlete in a standard marathon, finishing in 2:06:38 and finishing in seventh place. This also makes him the second fastest British male in history, behind Mo Farah’s 2:05:11.
Women’s race
In the women’s race, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei won in 2:14:00, the fastest time this year in the world. It was no surprise that she had to hold off fellow Kenyan and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir. Jepchirchir clocked in at 2:14:43. Belgium’s Chloé Herbiet took third place in 2:20:38.
On top of the world 🙌
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) December 7, 2025
🇰🇪's Joyciline Jepkosgei clocks a phenomenal 2:14:00 course record at the @maratonvalencia to become the 4th fastest woman in history over the distance ‼️ pic.twitter.com/3ObI2ujTXI
Forty-five-year-old Canadian Malindi Elmore finished 12th in a time of 2:24:53. Her personal best is 2:23:30 from Berlin two years ago. Her PB is the second-fastest time in Canadian history, Valencia takes the Canadian 45-plus record. She topped the first American runner, Emma Bates, by one place and nearly a full minute (58s).
Twenty-five women finished under 2:30:00; meanwhile, 42 men finished under 2:12:00.
Temperatures during the race ranged from 11°C to 18°C (51°F to 64°F).
Interestingly, Lilian Kasait Rengeruk does not appear in the results. She was slated to run; however, Athletics Illustrated reported that she is a former doper. As a World Athletics Platinum Label race, Valencia Marathon has a policy that dopers and former dopers will not be invited to compete.
Results
Top 42 men
| Pos. | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KORIR, JOHN (KEN) | 2:02:24 |
| 2 | PETROS, AMANAL (GER) | 2:04:03 |
| 3 | KIBRAB, AWET (NOR) | 2:04:24 |
| 4 | OSAKO, SUGURU (JPN) | 2:04:55 |
| 5 | AYALE, GASHAU (ISR) | 2:05:29 |
| 6 | KANGOGO, JUSTUS (KEN) | 2:06:10 |
| 7 | YEE, ALEX (GBR) | 2:06:38 |
| 8 | BOUR, Félix (FRA) | 2:06:41 |
| 9 | TESFU, FILMON (NED) | 2:06:42 |
| 10 | DIDA, GEMECHU (ETH) | 2:06:45 |
| 11 | PFEIFFER, HENDRIK (GER) | 2:06:45 |
| 12 | FITWI, SAMUEL (GER) | 2:07:01 |
| 13 | SESEMANN, PHILIP (GBR) | 2:07:11 |
| 14 | CHESEREK, EDWARD (KEN) | 2:07:13 |
| 15 | MOSIN, PATRICK (KEN) | 2:07:17 |
| 16 | CHAKIR, IBRAHIM (ESP) | 2:07:21 |
| 17 | GONDOUIN, VALENTIN (FRA) | 2:07:54 |
| 18 | KIPKOECH, HILLARY (KEN) | 2:08:13 |
| 19 | GONZALEZ RIVERA, JORGE (ESP) | 2:08:34 |
| 20 | BARATA, SAMUEL (PRT) | 2:08:40 |
| 21 | HASSAOUS, NASSIM (ESP) | 2:08:44 |
| 22 | Mellor, Jonny (GBR) | 2:08:45 |
| 23 | MAYO NIETO, CARLOS (ESP) | 2:08:53 |
| 24 | BOCH, SIMON (DEU) | 2:08:55 |
| 25 | LEMMA, SISAY (ETH) | 2:08:58 |
| 26 | CARR, FERNANDO (ESP) | 2:09:07 |
| 27 | NAVARRO, NICO (FRA) | 2:09:24 |
| 28 | BLANCO, JORGE (ESP) | 2:09:27 |
| 29 | Bastien, AUGUSTO (FRA) | 2:09:36 |
| 30 | Cruz, Jorge (MEX) | 2:09:43 |
| 31 | SANCHEZ, PABLO (ESP) | 2:09:45 |
| 32 | Pointeau, Jason (FRA) | 2:09:52 |
| 33 | MENGES, TEWELDE (GBR) | 2:10:00 |
| 34 | NOWICKI, ADAM (POL) | 2:10:02 |
| 35 | OLMOS PASCUAL, JESUS ANGEL (ESP) | 2:10:16 |
| 36 | GISEMO, JOSEPHAT JOSHUA (TZA) | 2:10:31 |
| 37 | CONNOR, BEN (GBR) | 2:10:49 |
| 38 | CRIPPA, YEMANE (ITA) | 2:10:59 |
| 39 | SIMONSEN, JACOB (DEN) | 2:11:10 |
| 40 | Do Canto, Thomas (AUS) | 2:11:14 |
| 41 | Boulvin, Dorian (BEL) | 2:11:25 |
| 42 | BOUKEBAL, Aziz (FRA) | 2:11:29 |
Top 40 women
| Pos. | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JEPKOSGEI, JOYCILINE (KEN) | 2:14:00 CR WL |
| 2 | JEPCHIRCHIR, PERES (KEN) | 2:14:43 |
| 3 | HERBIET, CHLOE (BEL) | 2:20:38 |
| 4 | VAINIO, ALISA (FIN) | 2:20:48 |
| 5 | STENSON, JESSICA (AUS) | 2:21:24 |
| 6 | XABA, GLENROSE (ZAF) | 2:23:22 |
| 7 | BATT-DOYLE, ISOBEL (AUS) | 2:23:35 |
| 8 | SALPETER, LONAH (ISR) | 2:23:45 |
| 9 | SOLER, MERITXELL (ESP) | 2:23:49 |
| 10 | WILSON, NATASHA (GBR) | 2:24:21 |
| 11 | NAVARRETE, ESTER (ESP) | 2:24:31 |
| 12 | Elmore, Malindi (CAN) | 2:24:53 |
| 13 | BATES, EMMA (USA) | 2:25:51 |
| 14 | Mayer, Julia (AUT) | 2:26:08 |
| 15 | SZABO, NORA (HUN) | 2:27:06 |
| 16 | Inès, Hamoudi (FRA) | 2:27:35 |
| 17 | PARTRIDGE, LILY (GBR) | 2:27:54 |
| 18 | Johnson, Carolina (SWE) | 2:28:01 |
| 19 | LAIGLE, Héloïse (FRA) | 2:28:04 |
| 20 | Jesus, Solange (POR) | 2:28:10 |
| 21 | D’AMATO, KEIRA (USA) | 2:28:14 |
| 22 | GREGSON, GENEVIEVE (AUS) | 2:28:51 |
| 23 | Legault, Elissa (CAN) | 2:29:05 |
| 24 | Sajn, Liza (SLO) | 2:29:33 |
| 25 | Robsahm, Ida Amelie (NOR) | 2:29:57 |
| 26 | Gruppen, Jacelyn (NED) | 2:30:45 |
| 27 | Lowe, Rebecca (AUS) | 2:30:50 |
| 28 | Hopkins, Verity (GBR) | 2:31:21 |
| 29 | VALTIERRA MEJIA, MARLA ELENA (MEX) | 2:31:48 |
| 30 | JACQUOT-CLAUDE, Emilie (FRA) | 2:32:05 |
| 31 | COSTE, Manon (FRA) | 2:32:46 |
| 32 | Nesbitt, Jennifer (GBR) | 2:32:48 |
| 33 | NORDBERG, Abigail (AUS) | 2:33:05 |
| 34 | Kidane, Kidan (USA) | 2:33:05 |
| 35 | Offstein, Madison (USA) | 2:33:27 |
| 36 | Estlea-Morris, Kate (GBR) | 2:33:45 |
| 37 | McInnes, Simone (AUS) | 2:34:11 |
| 38 | Wood, Katy (GBR) | 2:34:23 |
| 39 | Potter, Sarah (GBR) | 2:34:26 |
| 40 | mathy, valentine (BEL) | 2:34:58 |
