The Half Marathon fills Barcelona with a race in which the women's record falls.

BarcelonaThe Barcelona Half Marathon filled the city streets with over 36,000 runners, a record turnout for the event, which is celebrating its 37th edition and remains strong. The men's race was won by Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet with a time of 58 minutes and 5 seconds, while the women's race was won by Kenyan Loice Chemnung, who set a new course record of 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 1 second. Chemnung was the star of the day, establishing the new Barcelona course record by surpassing the mark of her compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei, whose time of 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 13 seconds was achieved a year ago. Chemnung improved her personal best and achieved the sixth fastest time ever recorded in the women's category. American Weini Kelati finished second (1:06:03), and Ethiopian Diniya Abaraya came in third. In the men's category, Hagos Gebrhiwet established a strong lead from the start, setting a pace that suggested he could approach the all-time best, as he was running at a similar speed to the world record. Ultimately, he couldn't maintain the high pace he had set, but he won convincingly ahead of Switzerland's Dominic Lobalu (59:25) and France's Emmanuel Roudolff (59:35). The race was marked by the debate surrounding the milestone achieved by Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo a year ago, when he broke the world record with a time of 56:40. However, just a few days ago, World Athletics, the governing body for athletics, announced that it had decided not to validate the mark, considering that Kiplimo benefited from the presence of a vehicle, as he ran behind it for a while. Thus, it was decided that the time remains official as the best of the Barcelona event but is not considered a world record. A decision that Barcelona City Council's Sports Councillor, David Escudé, describes as "difficult to understand." "We will fight to change this decision. Barcelona City Council will go all the way. We understand absolutely nothing: neither the delay, nor the result, nor the lack of information, nor the fact that the best time is recognized but not the record," says Escudé, who hinted that pressure from those in charge of the Half Marathon, which Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha had achieved in 2024 in Valencia with a time of 57 minutes and 30 seconds, was behind this decision.

This year, the world record wasn't broken, although the times were very good. After a few days of rain, the weather cooperated, with sunshine that allowed many athletes to improve their personal bests on a course with more than 20 entertainment points designed to create a great atmosphere. "It's the best Half Marathon in the world," declared Sports Councillor David Escudé. The race followed last year's route, starting on Passeig Picasso at the intersection with Passeig Mercantil, next to Parc de la Ciutadella, and finishing on Passeig Pujades at the intersection with Carrer Nápoles. Women made up 40% of the registered runners, a record high, and there was also a 40% international contingent from 93 countries. A strong youth presence was also noted, with 35% of registered runners under 35 years old.