Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh SMASHES half marathon world record by 20 seconds while wearing controversial Nike Vaporfly shoes
- Ababel Yeshaneh smashed half marathon world record by 20 seconds on Friday
- Yeshaneh crossed the finish line in one hour, four minutes and 31 seconds
- Yeshaneh wore a version of Nike’s Vaporfly shoes to win Ras Al Khaimah event
Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh smashed the half marathon world record by 20 seconds on Friday to win the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) event in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
Yeshaneh crossed the finish line in one hour, four minutes and 31 seconds at the World Athletics Gold Label road race, eclipsing the previous record of 1:04:51 set by Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei in Valencia in 2017.
Marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei finished second, and her time was also two seconds inside Jepkosgei’s mark.
Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh smashed the half marathon world record by 20 seconds on Friday
Yeshaneh crossed line in one hour, four minutes and 31 seconds in the United Arab Emirates
Both Yeshaneh and Kosgei were wearing a version of Nike’s Vaporfly shoes, which have featured in several other track and road records in the last three years.
Some earlier models of the shoe were banned by World Athletics last month, but the latest one launched by Nike complies with the rules to limit carbon plate usage and sole thickness for elite races.
‘I didn’t imagine this result,’ said Yeshaneh, whose previous best of 1:05:46 had stood as the Ethiopian record for five months between 2018 and 2019.
Rosemary Wanjiru was third in a time of 1:05:34, and the next five women completed the race inside 67 minutes.
Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie won the men’s race in 58:58, 18 seconds clear of compatriot Alexander Mutiso in second place.
The shoes Eliud Kipchoge used to run a marathon in under two hours will be illegal in the future
Kenya’s Kipchoge celebrates after running a marathon in under two hours in Vienna, Austria
NEW NIKE RUNNING SHOES SPARKS UNEASE
Athletes have accused World Athletics of favouring Nike in the wake of their new regulations to tackle the growing controversy around racing shoes.
The sport’s governing body issued tighter rules to counter the issue, but critics argue they do not go nearly far enough.
While the directives ban footwear with a stack height in excess of 40mm and more than one carbon plate, that has affected only one shoe — the Alphafly prototypes worn by Eliud Kipchoge when he went under two hours for a marathon last year. The rest of Nike’s earlier Vaporfly and Next% products, which have had a drastic impact on the elite end of the sport, have been passed as compliant.
By Riath Al-Samarrai
