Kibor settles for bronze as Kejelcha moves to second all-time for 10km in Castellón
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Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 17.02.25. | 09:23
Cinthia Chepngeno’s 30:17 saw her miss the podium as Ethiopia dominated the women's race
Yomif Kejelcha and Medina Eisa secured an Ethiopian double at the 10K Facsa Castellón, a World Athletics Label road race, held in the Spanish coastal city on Sunday, 16 February.
While Kejelcha targeted the world record of 26:24 and had to settle for a 26:31 clocking to move to second on the men’s world all-time list, debutant Eisa also impressed with a 29:25 performance to finish well ahead of her compatriot Likina Amebaw.
Eisa’s winning time and Amebaw’s PB of 29:40 move the pair to fourth and ninth, respectively, on the women’s all-time list.
Kejelcha, who lost his world half marathon record some two minutes after crossing the finish line in Castellón following Jacob Kiplimo’s impressive effort in Barcelona, improved on his PB of 26:37 and broke the Ethiopian record of 26:33 held by Berihu Aregawi.
Perfectly paced by Burundi's Rodrigue Kwizera, Kejelcha covered the opening kilometers at the required pace to attack the world record, as he clocked 2:36 for the opening kilometer and then reached 2 km in 5:13 and 3 km in 7:51.
Kejelcha was even running slightly ahead of Kwizera at some point, like he was demanding a quicker rhythm, and despite the frantic cadence, the pair were accompanied by the Ethiopian teenager duo of Yismaw Dillu and debutant Kuma Girma.
It was Dillu who first dropped from the leading pack, which went through the halfway point in 13:13, just a single second behind the world record pace. A few meters on, Kwizera dropped out, and Kejelcha took charge of the race while Girma hung on to run at his compatriot’s shoulder.
Girma’s resistance came to an end before the sixth kilometer, with the 19-year-old having competed barely 36 hours earlier in Lievin over 3000 m. At that point, Kejelcha maintained the world record mood thanks to a 15:50 clocking, and the same went for the following kilometer as he reached the 7km mark in 18:28.
However, an uncomfortable fog hampered Kejelcha’s effort over the closing kilometers, and he lost some valuable seconds over the closing stages.
He still managed to achieve the second quickest 10km time in history of 26:31, while Girma, the younger brother of the Olympic and three-time world 3000m steeplechase silver medalist Lamecha Girma, produced a remarkable debut with a 26:58 performance.
Kenya’s Brian Kibor completed the podium in 27:05, while France’s European 3000m steeplechase silver medalist Djilali Bedrani was the leading European athlete as he clocked 27:58 for seventh.
“I was absolutely convinced I would break the world record today,” said a disappointed Kejelcha. “It’s a setback for me.”
Meanwhile, Eisa crossed the finish line in 29:25 to move to fourth all-time, just 10 seconds outside the Ethiopian record set by Yalemzef Yehualaw in Castellón in 2022—a performance that was a world record at the time.
Amebaw’s reward was a 16-second improvement on her previous best in addition to her runner-up place, while Aynadis Mebratu completed a sweep for Ethiopia timed at 30:05 to Cinthia Chepngeno’s 30:17.
“It was my first time over 10km at any surface and I didn’t know how I was going to adapt to the distance,” said Eisa, “but everything went well, and I’m quite happy with my victory and also the time.”
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