Rising Ethiopian runner Yalemzerf Yehualaw broke the world 10km record at the Castellón 10K, clocking 29:14 at the World Athletics Label road race held on Sunday in the Spanish coastal city, Castellón de la Plana.
Yehualaw perfected her finish within 29:14 which is 24 seconds quicker than the previous mark set by Ethiopia-born Bahraini Kalkidan Gezahegne at The Giants Geneva 10K in October last year.
The 22-year-old also became the first woman in history to run under the 29:30 and 29:20 barriers on the roads.
Gezahegne’s record is yet to be ratified but Yehualaw still bettered the ratified record of 29:43 by Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei of 29:43 set in 2017. Yehualaw’s record is also still subject to the usual ratification procedure.
The Kenyan duo of Houston Half Marathon Vicoty Chepngeno and former world 5000m silver medallist Mercy Cherono finished in second and third, respectively, in times of 30:14 and 30:48.
Yehualaw, who had previously gone close on a number of occasions to breaking world records, said she believed she had what it takes to etch her name in the books of history.
“I knew I had the world record in my legs and wanted to produce a challenging performance for any athletes who may attempt the record in the near future,” she said.