Kenyans dominate half marathons in Belgrade
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 19.04.26. | 20:03
Only two of the top 10 places in the men's race went to non-Kenyans
Kenya enjoyed its day out in the sun at this year's Belgrade Half Marathon after scooping the top prizes in the men's and women's races on Saturday, 18 April.
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This comes after Kenyan runners Francis Abong and Valentine Jebet dominated the field in the Serbian capital, winning by times of 1:00.47 and 1:10.47, respectively.
Abong, 30, made the biggest headlines after shattering the event's course record, beating a 1:02.51 previous best that was set back in 2008.
The 10,000m runner broke away from his rivals around the 10th kilometer mark, and went on to claim a convincing victory, finishing ahead of compatriots Kennedy Kimutai Kaptila (1:02.26) and Vincent Momanyi (1:03.07) in second and third respectively.
So big was Kenya’s domination in the 21 kilometer race that Kenya ended up claiming the top six positions, with all of Laban Kipkemboi, Clinton Ktum and Michael Kasenga closing in fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
In the women’s race, Jebet produced a late kick to fend off her challenger - Ethiopia’s Lelisa Bekele Badese - to triumph in her third half marathon this year.
Jebet, 28, broke away around the 15th kilometer mark to shake off Bekele, who came second in 1:12.41, with Croatia’s Matea Parlov closing out the podium in third with a time of 1:13.37.
Jebet’s win extended her scintillating form this year, which has seen her win all three of her past races; Pardubice Wine Half Marathon, Poznan 10K, and the Split Half Marathon.
A total of 7,500 runners took part in the 39th edition of the Belgrade Half Marathon, which also saw the race course changed to see athletes start and finish at Republic Square.
On Sunday, Ethiopia secured twin victories in the full marathon, with the pair of Eden Alemu Dadi (2:30.22) and Gada Gemsisa Gudeta (2:09.11) winning the women’s and men's events.
In the bigger picture, the full Belgrade event (42km, 21km and 10km marathons) served as a general rehearsal for the European Running Championships, which the city will host in 2027.