Chepngetich’s record goes to the Ethiopian. Yehualaw says, ‘It’s a dream come true’.
At 22 years of age, Yalemzerf Yehualaw has broken the world record in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon.
Yehualaw broke the previous record set by Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich by 19 seconds in Larne, Northern Ireland.
“[It’s] a dream come true, something I have worked for all my life,” she said.
Yehualaw ran the opening 5 kilometres in 15:05, 8 seconds inside world-record pace. After 15km, Yehualaw was 6 seconds clear of the world record, in 45:24, before a great last 6 km took her further ahead.
She set a personal best of 64:46 at the New Delhi Half Marathon in 2020, before taking 6 seconds off that in Istanbul earlier this year. That run was the 3rd-fastest of all time at the time.
Yalemzerf then knocked 1:03 off her personal best here, to break the world record in a time of 63:43!
