Sweden’s Andreas Almgren and Kenya’s Brenda Jepchirchir claimed impressive victories at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja by Kiprun, a World Athletics Label road race, held in near perfect conditions on Sunday.
In the men’s race, world 10,000m bronze medallist Almgren won in 26:45 to take eight seconds off his own European record, set when winning here last year. Jepchirchir, still only 20, produced a standout performance in the women’s race, lifting herself to fourth on the world all-time list.
The men’s race had been billed as a record attempt by the European mark holder, and the Tokyo world 10,000m bronze medallist delivered emphatically. With Ethiopia’s Urgesa Negasa setting the pace, the opening kilometres were covered at between 2:40 and 2:42, taking the field through 3000m in 8:04. By that point, only three athletes remained at the front: Almgren, Ethiopia’s Khairi Bejiga and Kenya’s Victor Kipruto.
Once the pacemaker stepped aside, Almgren assumed control, closely shadowed by Bejiga and Kipruto. The trio passed halfway in a brisk 13:29, projecting a sub-27:00 finish, albeit slightly outside the European record. Shortly before 6km, Kipruto began to lose contact, leaving Almgren and the 19-year-old Bejiga – who came in with a personal best of 26:54 – to contest the lead, with the Swede dictating the tempo.
Bejiga briefly moved to the front at about 8km, but his surge was short-lived. Almgren reclaimed the lead just before the final kilometre, still hunting his own continental mark. The decisive move came exactly at 9km, when Almgren found another gear and quickly pulled clear. A blistering final kilometre of 2:32 sealed the deal, as he powered home in 26:45, six seconds clear of the fast-finishing Ethiopian, who also set a personal best. Kipruto completed the podium in 27:16.
“I knew I was in great shape – even better than last year – and I was confident of breaking the record,” said Almgren. “Valencia is like a second home for me; I never have a bad race here. It was tough setting the pace from the third kilometre onwards and there was some headwind in places, but overall it was a perfect race. I’m immensely happy.”
In addition to the area records, there were national records for: Mohamed Abdilaahi (Germany) 27:22, Magnus Tuv Myhre (Norway) 27:22, Said Mechaal (Spain) 27:25, Jose Carlos Pinto (Portugal) 27:37, Joe Wigfield (Great Britain) 27:38, Efrem Gidey (Ireland) 27:38 and Baldvin Magnusson (Iceland) 27:40.
The women’s race began at a blistering pace, with Brenda Jepchirchir – previously a 30:04 performer – surging clear early. Running among a large group of male athletes, she set a relentless tempo of about 2:54 per kilometre, opening a small gap over Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw. Behind them, Kenya’s Clare Chemtai and Faith Cherono ran in close formation.
Jepchirchir passed through half way in 14:32, with Amebaw four seconds back and the Kenyan chasing pair clocking 14:41. Eilish McColgan reached halfway in eighth place in 15:04, holding a 27-second advantage over fellow Briton Alex Bell.
In the second half, Jepchirchir eased slightly, covering the remaining kilometres in the 2:56–2:58 range. Amebaw mirrored her pace and remained within five seconds throughout, but was unable to close the gap. Jepchirchir crossed the line in 29:25, elevating her to equal fourth on the world all-time list.
The Spain-based Amebaw took second in 29:30, improving her personal best by 10 seconds and moving to equal sixth on the all-time lists, while Chemtai claimed third in 29:46.
McColgan, meanwhile, produced a perfectly judged run. The 35-year-old Scot clocked identical splits of 15:04 to finish in a European record of 30:08, taking two seconds off the mark set just a week earlier by Belgium’s Jana Van Lent.
Aga and Wolde retain Xiamen Marathon titles
Ruti Aga and Dawit Wolde successfully defended their titles at the Xiamen Marathon – the first World Athletics Platinum Label road race of the year – leading Ethiopian sweeps of both podiums on Sunday.
Aga crossed the line in 2:22:45, finishing comfortably ahead of compatriots Meseret Abebayehu (2:25:15) and Fikrte Wereta (2:25:31). Li Meizhen was the top Chinese finisher, placing fifth in a PB of 2:27:24.
Aga adopted different tactics compared with her previous record-setting run, opting to stay patient within a larger group rather than pushing from the outset.
“Last year I brought my personal pacer here, so I was pushing from the beginning,” said Aga, who clocked 2:18:46 here in 2025 “This year, I was running with the official pacers and some of male athletes. I was just concentrating on winning. I’m so happy to defend the title here in Xiamen.”
Wolde timed his effort to perfection in the men’s race, stopping the clock at 2:09:18 after a closely contested finish that saw three Ethiopians separated by just four seconds. Hailemaryam Kiros followed in 2:09:20, with Addisu Gobena third in 2:09:22, as the leading pack remained tightly bunched deep into the final kilometres.
Having broken the course record 12 months earlier with 2:06:06, Wolde adopted a more measured approach this time, prioritising victory over speed. The 34-year-old explained that his focus was on managing the race rather than forcing the pace early, a strategy that proved decisive in the closing stages.
“What I wanted to do this year is just to keep my title, not to break my course record, so I had no reason to push it early,” said Wolde, who also welcomed subtle changes to the course, notably the removal of a late U-turn, which he felt made the closing kilometres smoother.
“This year when I came as the defending champion, I put a lot of pressure on me. I did it, so I’m happy.”
National record-holder Yang Shaohui emerged as the leading Chinese man, finishing sixth overall in 2:11:14 after holding contact with the front group for more than 30km.
