On Sunday in Valencia, Agnes Ng’etich shattered the 10km world record by cutting 28 seconds off the previous mark as she won the Valencia Ibercaja road race in Spain.
At 22 years old, she is the first woman to achieve a time below 29 minutes for the distance, surpassing the previous road mixed-race world record set by Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw in Castellon two years ago by 28 seconds.
Ngetich clocked a time of 28:46, matching Beatrice Chebet’s world 5km record set two weeks prior in Barcelona, while also passing the halfway mark in 14:13.
Compatriot Emmaculate Anyango also completed the race in under 29 minutes, securing the second position with a time of 28:57.
Speaking about her 10km record, Ngetich said: “I am so happy. I didn’t expect this world record.
“I was coming to improve my time, at least somewhere around 29:14, but I am happy that I ran a world record of 28 minutes. I didn’t expect this.”
Ngetich’s 10km time also surpasses the women’s world record for the distance on the track, where Letesenbet Gidey holds the world 10,000m record at 29:01.03.
Kenya’s Lilian Rengeruk secured the third position with a time of 29:32.
Ngetich will shift her focus to the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgrade on March 24 and subsequently target the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where athletics is set to be the premier sport in August.
“I’ll be doing the Kenyan trials for Belgrade, where I would like to improve on my bronze medal from last year,” she said.
