This archive report was first published on 1 July 2021.
On October 17, 2020, Peres Jepchirchir made history by setting a new women-only world half marathon record of 1:05:16 at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland.
Just over a month prior, Jepchirchir had set a previous women-only world record mark of 1:05:34 in Prague on September 5. However, at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, she was joined by five other women who finished under 66 minutes, a feat that had never been achieved before in the same race.
The top three finishers, including Jepchirchir, all beat her previous record, with Jepchirchir finishing 20 seconds ahead of her rivals. The conditions on the day were cool and breezy, with a roughly 5.5km loop course featuring a seafront stretch that athletes covered four times.
Former mixed race world record-holder Joyciline Jepkosgei led a 13-strong group through 5km in 15:20, and a lead group of seven passed 10km in 30:47. However, it was Jepchirchir who broke away from the pack, 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. In an interview after the race, Jepchirchir said, "It's unbelievable. My goal was to win this race. I did not expect that I would beat the world record, but I realised that it could happen when we passed 20km. It was a little bit windy, but the course was good for me. I am so happy with this. It's a gift to all the Kenyans, to my family."
