Ben Flanagan snags Canadian record at Valencia Half Marathon

Two Canadians ran to national records and personal bests at the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday morning. Ben Flanagan, 27, continued his winning ways on the roads, setting a new Canadian record in the half-marathon in 61 minutes flat. Fellow Canadian and national record holder in the marathon, Cam Levins, 33, finished right on Flanagan’s heels in a new personal best of 61:05.

Levins’s time was the second fastest in Canadian history, and the two athletes finished in 18th and 19th places, respectively. The previous Canadian half-marathon record of 61:08 was set by Rory Linkletter in January, besting a national record that had held for 22 years. Valencia’s record-breaking run was also a 38-second personal best for Flanagan, who became the 2022 Canadian 10K champion in May and 5K champion in September.

The Valencia Half Marathon is known for its fast course and deep elite fields, and heading into the race, speculation abounded about a possible new world record. The men’s race kicked off slightly slower than expected, with unseasonably high temperatures (17 C) and humidity.

Kenyan’s Kibiwott Kandie and Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen captured the overall victories in the half-marathon. Kandie, who broke the world record here two years ago, broke away from the lead pack to finish in 58:10, followed by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in 58:32 and last year’s third-place finisher, Daniel Mateiko in 58:40.

Klosterhalfen finished with a kick in the last kilometre, winning her half-marathon debut in 65:41.The European champion and 2019 world bronze medallist over 5000m told World Athletics: “I chose Valencia because of the fast times set over the previous years and my decision proved to be right today.” She was followed by Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama in 65:45 and Hawi Feysa (also from Ethiopia) in 66:00.

Top women’s results 

1 Konstanze Klosterhalfen (GER) 1:05:41
2 Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH) 1:05:45
3 Hawi Feysa (ETH) 1:06:00
4 Agnes Ngolo (KEN) 1:06:38
5 Margaret Chelimo (KEN) 1:06:50
6 Magdalena Sahuri (KEN) 1:07:07
7 Irine Kimais (KEN) 1:07:10
8 Purity Komen (KEN) 1:07:27
9 Yasemin Can (TUR) 1:07:45
10 Vicoty Chepngeno (KEN) 1:07:54

Top Men’s Results 

1 Kibiwott Kandie (KEN) 58:10
2 Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 58:32
3 Daniel Mateiko (KEN) 58:40
4 Tadese Worku (ETH) 58:47
5 Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 59:04
6 Sabastian Sawe (KEN) 59:23
7 Ronald Kirui (KEN) 1:00:10
8 Isaac Kipkemboi (KEN) 1:00:11
9 Edward Cheserek (KEN) 1:00:13
10 Weldon Langat (KEN) 1:00:28