IAAF/Trinidad Alfonso World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018

Geoffrey Kamworor Wins Third IAAF World Half Marathon Title

Geoffrey Kamworor Wins Third IAAF World Half Marathon Title

Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won his third IAAF World Half Marathon title in 1:00:02.

Mar 24, 2018 by Johanna Gretschel
Geoffrey Kamworor Wins Third IAAF World Half Marathon Title

Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won his third consecutive IAAF World Half Marathon Championship title in 1:00:02 with some astonishing finishing splits today in Valencia, Spain.

The 25-year-old King of the half marathon reportedly split the second 10K of the race in 27:46, which included a 13:01 5K between 15K and 20K. 



The effort was enough to put a solid 20-second gap on the field; Abraham Cheroben of Bahrain ran 1:00:22 for second place and Aron Kifle of Eritrea ran 1:00:31 for third.

The early miles, then, were led by the likes of Julien Wanders of Switzerland (who, like the Robinson twins of New Zealand, found success by moving to Kenya to train since he was 18 years old) and Kenta Murayama of Japan, who set a pace of 14:31 through 5K. 

Over the following 5K, Kamworor moved from ninth to second, as Kaan Ozbilen led the field through 10K in 29:28; the race was opposite to the women's contest, as essentially the entire field was still in contention at this point.

By 15K, Kamworor led the crowded field with a split of 44:13, but shortly thereafter put on a stunning show of his abilities to make child's play of the field.

The U.S. men placed seventh in the team standings, led by Sam Chelanga's 1:01:23, 14th-place run. The 43-year-old Bernard Lagat was 31st in 1:02:16, Diego Estrada was 69th in 1:03:59, and Jared Wared was 83rd in 1:04:49. 

A fifth member of the contingent, Leonard Korir, did not finish the race.