Half marathon world record holder from Ethiopia, Letesenbet Gidey, married her long-time fiancé, Deacon Fesseha Kiros, over the weekend.
Many Congratulations to Athlete Letesenbet Gidey and Deacon Fesseha Kiros for your wedding. 🎉🎈🎊🍾 pic.twitter.com/f2rAUnd0YV
— Peace (@peace_g123) May 27, 2024
While Gidey and Kiros exchanged wedding vows, Kenyan rival, Beatrice Chebet, took Gidey’s 10,000-metre world record by clocking a 28:54.14 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Chebet is the first woman to breach the 29-minute benchmark.
Gidey continues to hold onto the half-marathon record at *62:52, which she set at the 2021 Valencia Half Marathon. Her world record in the 10,000m was 29:01.03 from the Hengelo meet that same year. The 26-year-old also set the 15km world’s best-known time of 44:20 in 2019.
The next benchmark to be breached will be the 14-minute barrier in the 5000m which was set by fellow Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay at 14:00.21 at the 2023 Eugene World Athletics Championships.
*The half-marathon event has two world records, women’s only race, where no men are available for drafting. The other is mixed men and women. Gidey’s record was set in a mixed race. Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir holds the women’s only half-marathon record at 65:16 from the 2020 Gdynia World Half Marathon Championships.
