Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh breaks women’s half-marathon world record

Ethiopian Ababel Birhane Yeshaneh has set a world record in the women’s half-marathon at the 2020 RAK Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates.

Yeshaneh won the race in a world record of one hour, four minutes and 31 seconds on Friday to topple the previous record set by Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei 2017.

“I didn’t imagine this result,” she said.

The long-distance runner who competes in track, road and cross country events was the 2019 Chicago Marathon runner-up.

She represented Ethiopia in the 10,000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, coming ninth.

Yeshaneh got her first international medal at the 2014 African Cross Country Championships. As part of the Ethiopian women’s team led by Tadelech Bekele, Yeshaneh finished sixth in the women’s race which brought her a silver medal.

She also came fourth at the Portugal Half Marathon and in 2015, she won the half-marathon section of the Ooredoo Marathon in Doha.

Yeshaneh was a team silver medalist at the African Cross Country Championships in 2014.