Ethiopia’s Abebe Negewo broke the course record at the Minsk Half Marathon

Ethiopia’s Abebe Negewo broke the course record at the Minsk Half Marathon, while Kenya’s Sheila Jerotich became the first non-Belarusian winner of the women’s race, Negewo ended Hillary Maiyo’s winning streak in the Belarusian capital, but the Kenyan put up a good fight and finished close behind Negewo as both men were given the same finishing time of 1:02:39. Negewo was first across the line, though, and became the first Ethiopian winner of the race. Negewo, Maiyo and the four other top contenders – Kenya’s Joel Maina Mwangi, Benard Korir, Ethiopia’s Feyera Gemeda and authorised neutral athlete Rinas Akhmadeyev – soon detached themselves from the rest of the field and covered the first five kilometres in 14:43. The pace dropped slightly, but the six men remained together through 10 kilometres, reached in 29:50, and were almost a minute ahead of their nearest chaser. Akhmadeyev and Gemeda were unable to maintain that pace for much longer and lost contact with the leaders. Korir soon followed, leaving Negewo and Maiyo at the front with Mwangi a few paces behind as they reached 15 kilometres in 44:48. Mwangi continued to drift away from Negewo and Maiyo as the leading duo ran side by side for the final quarter of the race. Negewo proved to have the better finish, though, as he kicked ahead of his Kenyan opponent to win in 1:02:39, taking 21 seconds off the course record Maiyo set during his first victory in 2016. Maiyo finished a close second while third-placed Mwangi crossed the line in 1:02:53, also inside the previous course record.

posted Monday September 10th