Flomena Cheyech claims victory at Yangzhou Half Marathon

Kenya's Flomena Cheyech Daniel (left) celebrates with team-mate and silver medallist Kenya's Croline Kilel (right) after winning the women's marathon athletics event at the Glasgow City Marathon Course during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on July 27, 2014. PHOTO | ANDREJ ISAKOVIC |

By  Ayumba Ayodi  &  World Athletics

What you need to know:

  • Kenya’s Geoffrey Kirui, who is the 2012 world junior 10,000m bronze medallist, finished second
  • Cheyech beat Ethiopia's Worknesh Degefa for the title
  • Geremew’s winning mark broke the course record that Amlosom set last year and is the first sub-60-minute performance on Chinese soil.

Commonwealth Games Marathon champion Flomena Cheyech on Sunday won the Yangzhou Jianzhen International Half Marathon women’s race in a thrilling fashion in China.

In the men's Kenya’s Geoffrey Kirui, the 2012 world junior 10,000m bronze medallist, improved his Personal Best by almost a minute but finished second in 59:55, losing the battle to Ethiopian Mosinet Geremew.

The women’s competition was breathtaking with a series of exchanges of the lead in the final kilometre between Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa and Cheyech, the only two sub-68-minute in the field.

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The 32-year-old Cheyech surpassed Degefa in the last 100m and maintained the advantage to the finish line to come home in 1:08:36. Only last year’s winner and course record-holder Gladys Cherono has ever run faster in Yangzhou.

“I have never competed in China, and I am very happy to win,” said Cheyech, who is also the Paris Marathon champion.

PERSONAL BEST

Cheyech’s winning time is nearly one minute shy of her PB of 1:07:39, set when she claimed the title at the 2013 Roma-Ostia Half Marathon.

The 24-year-old Degefa, who has enjoyed a flying start to the 2015 season after trimming 35 seconds off her PB to win in 1:07:14 at the Prague Half Marathon in March, trailed one second behind Cheyech to finish as the runner-up for the second consecutive year in Yangzhou.

Degefa’s compatriot Netsanet Gudeta, the bronze medallist at the World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, clocked 1:08:53 to finish third, while upcoming star Purity Rionoripo continued her progress with a fourth-place finish in a PB of 1:09:00, more than a minute faster than her previous PB of 1:10:24 set in Lisbon last month.

Ethiopian Abebech Afework (1:09:14) and Kenya’s Gladys Chesir Kiptagelai (1:09:17) also improved their PBs to finish fifth and sixth respectively.

COURSE RECORD

Geremew out-raced Kiruri and defending champion Nguse Amlosom set a Chinese all-comers’ record of 59:52. It was the second victory this year for the 23-year-old, having won the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February in 1:00:05.

Geremew’s winning mark broke the course record that Amlosom set last year and is the first sub-60-minute performance on Chinese soil.

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