Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw secured her third victory in the women’s Antrim Coast Half Marathon, while Kenyan Alex Nzioka Matata took victory in the men’s race.
Yehualaw, who won the 2022 London Marathon, had a clear lead at the halfway point, finishing one minute and 16 seconds ahead of fellow runner Loice Chemnung with a time of 65 minutes and 34 seconds in wet and windy conditions.
2021 London Marathon winner Joyciline Jepkosgei was considered Yehualaw’s biggest challenger, but had to settle for third place, one minute and 33 seconds behind.
Despite the adverse weather conditions on the 21.1-kilometer course in and around Larne, Yehualaw’s winning time was well below her personal best of 63:51.
Yehualaw, 25, thought she had set a new world record in her first run at the event in Northern Ireland in 2021 after crossing the finish line in 63:44, but that time was disallowed after the course was found to be 54 metres too short.
In the men’s race, 27-year-old Nzioka Matata delivered a brilliant run despite terrible weather conditions, breaking the 60-minute mark with a time of 59 minutes and 48 minutes.
The Kenyan’s time was just 11 seconds over his personal best, which he set earlier this year when he won the Padua Half Marathon in Italy.
Nzioka Matata’s winning time was 41 seconds ahead of her compatriot Hillary Kipkoech (60:29), and Ethiopian two-time Tokyo Marathon winner Birhanu Legese was another second behind in third place.
The winner broke away from the sixth fastest marathon runner in the world, Legese, shortly after half the course and was never in trouble again.
