Kenyan runner breaks women's 10km record.

Spain won the Valencia Ibercaja 2024 with a time of 28 minutes and 46 seconds, with 22-year-old Agnes Ngetich breaking the women's 10km world record.

On the Valencia race track on January 14th, Ngetich achieved a pace of 2:53, averaging 2 minutes and 58 seconds per kilometer. This made her the first female athlete to achieve a time under 29 minutes in the 10km race, 28 seconds faster than the world record for the 10km mixed race set by Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia in Castellon, Valencia two years prior.

Ngetich finished first, setting a new world record in the women's 10km race at the Valencia Ibercaja 2024 on January 14th. Photo: 10K Valencia Ibercaja — Ngetich finished first, setting a new world record in the women's 10km race at the Valencia Ibercaja 2024 on January 14th. Photo: *10K Valencia Ibercaja*

Ngetich's latest achievement is also faster than the women's world record for the 10km track race, which was 29 minutes 1 second 03, set by Letesenbet Gidey in June 2021. She achieved this record at the Fanny Blankers-Koen stadium in Hengelo, Netherlands, during the Ethiopian Olympic Tokyo athletics selection competition.

"I set my sights on breaking the world record when I came to this race, and my time of 28 minutes and 46 seconds exceeded all expectations," Ngetich said, his voice choked with emotion. "When I reached 14 minutes and 13 seconds halfway through, I wasn't afraid at all; I just pushed myself to keep going until the end. I have no words to describe my feelings right now."

After breaking the women's world record in the 10km race, the Kenyan runner said she will be aiming for the World Cross-Country Athletics Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in March and then the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ngetich, born in 2001, is a promising long-distance runner from Kenya, having won the 5,000m race at the Kenyan U20 African Championships. She finished fifth at the Kenyan Cross-Country Championships held at Iten Grounds in Elgeyo Marakwet County in November 2021, and second behind Sheila Chepkirui at the Brasov 10km long-distance running festival in Brasov, Romania in September 2022.

On February 18, 2023, the 22-year-old runner won a bronze medal in the individual event and a gold medal in the team event at the World Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst, Australia.

Seven months later, she set world records in the 5km and 10km races at the Transylvania 10K in Brasov, but these were not recognized because the course did not meet the standards. The race organizers announced on Facebook that the course was 25 meters shorter than their standard certified course. When any world record is broken, the International Athletics Federation requires the course to be remeasured to ensure it meets the qualifying distance.

Kenyan runner breaks women's 10km record. — The moment Ngetich set the record.

At the Valencia Ibercaja 2024 on January 14th, following Ngetich was Emmaculate Anyango, an Ethiopian runner who also finished under 29 minutes with a time of 28 minutes and 57 seconds. Lilian Rengeruk of Kenya came in third with 29 minutes and 32 seconds.

In the men's event, Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda won with a personal best (PB) of 26 minutes 48 seconds, the fifth best in history. Kiplimo holds the half marathon record with 57 minutes 31 seconds, set in Lisbon 2021.

Following Kiplimo was Birhanu Balew of Bahrain, who also achieved a PB with 26 minutes 58 seconds, while Peter Mwaniki Njeru of Kenya came in third with 26 minutes 59 seconds.

In his first 10km race, Andreas Almgren finished sixth with a time of 27 minutes and 20 seconds, breaking the Swedish record. Abdessamad Oukhelfen of Spain also set a national record with 27 minutes and 44 seconds, but finished outside the top 10.

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