Kenyas Brigid Kosgei rules Madrid race

Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei reigned supreme last night in the Madrid IAAF Label Road Race claiming the honours in the women category within 30 minutes, to pip compatriot Hellen Obiri and Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba.

Kosgei won in 29:54 while Obiri, who had never previously contested a 10km race either on the roads or track, finished second in 29:59. Multiple world and Olympic gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba was a distant third in 30:40.

At the same time, Uganda’s  Jacob Kiplimo recorded the fastest 10km performance in history to win the men race in 26:41 on Monday .

The downhill nature of the course (5.5m per kilometre) means that his time can’t count as a world record, but it is still a notable performance as it took 13 seconds off the previous race record set by Eliud Kipchoge back in 2006.

The 18-year-old, who will still be an U20 athlete for the whole of 2019, was a late addition to the elite field but arrived in the Spanish capital off the back of a string of impressive cross-country victories.

The world U20 cross-country champion had contested just three 10km road races before today and has a best of 28:17, set when winning in Trento in October. In Madrid he was pushed by Ethiopia’s Abadi Hadis, who finished second in 26:54. Uganda’s Mande Bushendich was third in 27:24.

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Brigid Kosgei Hellen Obiri Madrid IAAF Label Road Race

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