Madrid, Spain - Letesenbet Gidey pulverised the women's half-marathon world record Sunday, slicing more than a minute off the previous mark when she won in Valencia.
Running in bright sunshine, it was the first half-marathon the 23-year-old Ethiopian had raced in and she added the record to her 5 000m and 10 000m world records.
Gidey timed 1:02.52 to better the previous time of 1:04.02 set by Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya in April 2021.
Valencia was also the scene of Gidey's 5 000m record in October 2020.
"Gracias Valencia," Gidey said at the finish line. "I'm so happy," she said, holding a sign saying "First woman in history under 63 minutes".
She ran the first 10km in 29:45 and then got even faster over the final section of the race.
AFP