With world record ratified, Jepchirchir now eyes Olympics glory

World half marathon record holder Peres Jepchirchir

World half marathon record holder Peres Jepchirchir during the interview with Nation Sport at her home in Kapsabet, Nandi County on March 25, 2021.

Photo credit: Jared Nyataya| Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • An elated Jepchirch told Nation Sport that the ratification of her world record will now offer her more confidence as she prepares for the Tokyo Olympic Games
  • For the first time in history, the top six women finished in under 66 minutes in the same race

Kenya's long distance star Peres Jepchirchir is over the moon after the World Athletics ratified her women-only world half marathon record of 1:05:16 on Thursday.

An elated Jepchirch told Nation Sport that the ratification of her world record will now offer her more confidence as she prepares for the Tokyo Olympic Games where she is set to represent Kenya in the marathon alongside the distance's world record holder Brigid Kosgei and world marathon champion Ruth Chepng'etich.

"This is good news for me as I prepare for the Olympic Games. I'm so happy and I'll be competing knowing that I have the record with me officially," she said.

On the Olympics, Jepchirchir said: "My preparations for the Olympic Games are going on well. The progress is good"

Jepchirchir shattered the women-only world half marathon record during the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia on 17 October 2020.

For the first time in history, the top six women finished in under 66 minutes in the same race, and the top three all beat Jepchirchir’s previous women-only world record mark of 1:05:34 which had been set in Prague just over a month before, on September 5.

Conditions were cool and breezy in the morning of the race, which took place on a roughly 5.5km loop course featuring a seafront stretch, covered by athletes four times.

It was former world half marathon record-holder Joyciline Jepkosgei who led a 13-strong group through 5km in 15:20 and a lead group of seven passed 10km in 30:47.

The two Kenyans, Jepkosgei and Jepchirchir, led through 15km in 46:24.

A few minutes after, Ethiopia’s then world half marathon record-holder Ababel Yeshaneh and Jepkosgei clashed and fell. Jepchirchir broke away, joined by Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Germany’s Melat Yisak Kejeta.

They went through 20km in 62:04, 13 seconds clear, and eventually finished 20 seconds ahead of their rivals.

Additional reporting by World Athletics