Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Ngetich became the first athlete to break the 30-minute barrier in a women-only 10km road race, clocking 29 minutes, 27 seconds at the Adizero Road To Records event in Herzogenaurach on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Kenyan, who already held the world record for 10km in a mixed race, was in dominant form, winning by more than a minute. After just five minutes, she had already stretched out the field and started to open up a comfortable lead.
Following her swift opening pace for the first two kilometres, Agnes Ngetich settled into a 2:57/km rhythm for the next three kilometres, reaching half way in 14:37 and putting her well on course to break the world record of 30:01 held by the late Agnes Jebet Tirop.
Ngetich’s pace dropped slightly in the second half, but she still managed to cover each remaining kilometre inside 3:00. Now well ahead of her nearest opponents, Ngetich charged through the finish line in 29:27, having covered the second half in 14:50.
“I’m so excited, I didn’t expect this,” she said. “Last year I missed it by two seconds, so I wanted to come here today and try for it again. I’m so proud of myself. After missing out on the Olympics last year, I want to make up for it this year at the World Championships.”
Ngetich shattered the 10km world record in Valencia in 2024, becoming the first woman to run the distance in under 29 minutes in a mixed-race event.
She recorded a time of 28:46, breaking Yalemzerf Yehualaw‘s world record for a mixed road race of 29:14 set in 2022.
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World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations - IAAF) is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, such as running, jumping and throwing.
