Kenyan runner loses two world records due to short course

Two weeks ago, Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich shocked the world at the Transylvania 10K in Brasov, Romania, when she broke not one, but two women’s world records in one 10K race. Unfortunately, Ngetich’s records will not be ratified, as the course was found to be short by 25 metres.

The race made the announcement on Facebook, indicating that the course was 25 metres short of their usual certified circuit. When any world record is broken, World Athletics is required to re-measure the course to ensure it meets the required distance.

The two world records Ngetich broke were the women-only 10K record (29:24) and women-only 5K record (14:25). Women-only records have to be set in races without men or male pacers. Even though Ngetich broke the previous record by 36 seconds and likely would’ve covered 25 metres walking in that time (as would most humans), this anomaly in distance makes the result non-ratifiable. 

This means the women-only 5K record of 14:29, set by Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi in 2021, will stand, along with the previous 10K record of 30:01, set by the late Agnes Tirop.

This isn’t the first time a world record has been unratifiable due to the course being short. In 2021, at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Northern Ireland, Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw smashed the women’s half-marathon record in 63:43 to become the first woman to run under the 64-minute mark. Later, it emerged that the course was 54 metres short, and the record was not ratified.

Race organizers from the Transylvania 10K said in a press release that the short mistake was “beyond their control” and that the race will take all measures to ensure this does not happen again.