Kennedy Kimutai, Jackline Cherono set to defend HOKA Paris Half Marathon
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Reading Time: 3min | Sat. 28.02.26. | 11:11
Kenya’s Roncer Kipkorir set the men's course record of 59:38 in 2023, while Betty Lempus' 1:05:46 from 2021 remains the women’s mark
Kenyans Kennedy Kimutai and Jackline Cherono, 2025 winners of the HOKA Paris Half Marathon in 1:00:16 and 1:07:14, respectively, will be on the starting line for this year's event with race records likely in jeopardy.
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The race is set for International Women's Day, Sunday, 8 March, with Kenya, winners of 22 of the 32 editions since the first in 1993, starting as favourites, with two athletes having already dipped under one hour.
Kimutai, 26, who clocked an impressive 58:28 in Valencia in 2021, the 19th fastest time in history, will be the man to beat.
Having already etched his name into the Paris Half Marathon winners' list with a time of 1:00:16, he intends to remain the king of the event. Parisians will recognise many familiar faces from the previous edition, as the top three finishers from 2025 will all be present.
Timothy Kosgei and Timothy Misoi, who picked silver and bronze respectively in 1:00:22 and 1:00:44 last year, are joined on the start line by Edward Cheserek, the winner in Copenhagen in 2023 in 59:11, and Brian Kipchumba, second in the Zurich half in 2025 in 1:03:37, completing a strong Kenyan contingent.
Meanwhile, Kenyan-born Belgian Isaac Kimeli, the 5000m World Championship silver medalist behind American Cole Hocker and ahead of Frenchman Jimmy Gressier in Tokyo, is a natural contender even as he makes his debut in the distance.
He has his work cut out as to find the last European victory here; one has to go back to the inaugural edition in 1993 when Slovakian Robert Stefko took first place (1:02:42).
"I'm in great shape right now," Kimeli told organisers. "I feel better and stronger every week, so I'm really looking forward to running in Paris.
It will be my first time running a 21km, so I'm very excited to experience the half-marathon distance. I'm going to give it my all and see how I feel at this new distance."
In the women's race, Cherono, who won last year in 1:07:14, is the woman to beat. On a course she knows perfectly, the 27-year-old Kenyan will be eager to rediscover the joy of victory.
To achieve this, she will face stiff competition from fellow Kenyan Mercy Chebwogen, winner of the 20km Paris 2025 and eighth in the last edition in 1:13:50, who could prove a formidable opponent.
The competition promises to be fierce with the presence of Ethiopian Ftaw Zeray, third in Ras Al Khaimah in 2023 with a time of 1:06:04, and Ugandan Sarah Chelangat, eighth in Copenhagen in 2023, in 1:07:59.
British runner Emma Pallant-Browne, who finished eleventh in Gqeberha (South Africa) in 2023 with a time of 1:11:35, will also be competing.