It wasn’t a day for world records at the Lisbon Half Marathon, but history was still made with a new women’s course record, absolutely obliterated by Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama. The Ethiopian runner also achieved a new personal best, just like the men’s winner, Djibouti’s Abdi Waiss (59:44).
In the women’s race, Ruth Chepng’etich was the pre-race favorite, but it was the second-highest-ranked runner who took the win, surging to the lead before the 10-kilometer mark.
With Chepng’etich falling behind, Gebreselama followed the official pacer and, with a steady performance, crossed the finish line in 1:04:21, shaving more than a minute off both her previous personal best (1:05:14) and the course record (1:05:30). Chepng’etich finished second in 1:06:20, followed by Abeba Aregawi, who clocked 1:06:36, setting a new Swedish national record—in her half marathon debut.
Additionally, the fourth-place finisher, Fentaye Azale, also improved her personal best.
In the men’s race, Portugal’s Samuel Barata stayed with the leading pack from the early stages, only dropping off at the 13-kilometer mark.
In the end, it was a historic moment for Djibouti, as Abdi Waiss claimed victory with a superb personal best of 59:44
He was followed by Kenya’s Shadrack Kipkemei (59:49) and fellow Djiboutian Mohamed Ismail (59:54), all setting new personal records.
Impressively, six more athletes within the top 10 also bettered their personal bests. One of them, 5th place finisher Gashau Ayale, shattered the Israeli national record, cutting 48 seconds off the previous best of 1:00:47, set by Tadesse Getahon.
