ATHLETICS – Bahrain's elite distance-running athlete Birhanu Balew raced to a sensational victory while setting new Asian and Bahraini records in the men’s 10 kilometres at the adizero: Road to Records 2025 event in Herzogenaurach in Germany.
Meanwhile, fellow-Bahraini Eunice Chebichii Chumba claimed an impressive top-three finish yesterday in the women’s race of the Gifu Half-Marathon in Gifu, Japan.
Both Balew and Chumba are amongst the kingdom’s top athletes who compete on the international stage.
In Herzogenaurach, Balew put in a devastating finishing kick to beat out his closest rivals to the tape. The 29-year-old outsprinted Gemechu Dida of Ethiopia and Rodrigue Kwizera of Burundi at the finish of their race, in which all three runners clocked a similar finishing time of 26 minutes 54 seconds.
That set a new best mark for all of Asia in the distance, with Balew beating the old top time of 26:57 – a record he too had set last year in a race in Valencia, Spain.
Finishing behind the top three were Nicholas Kipkorir of Kenya in 26:56 in fourth and his countryman Vincent Kipkorir in 27:08 in fifth. Completing the top eight were the Ethiopian pair of Haftamu Gebresilase (27:38) and Abel Bekele (27:39), and Martin Kiprotich (27:41) of Uganda.
Balew was the only Bahraini competing in Herzogenaurach. The former Asian champion, Asian Games gold-medalist, and World Military Games champion was competing in his first event of the season. The previous best mark of his career in the 10km road race was his finishing time in Valencia.
Meanwhile, in Gifu, Chumba took third place overall in her half-marathon. She completed the race in one hour nine minutes and seven seconds – nearly a minute-and-a-half behind winner Janeth Nyiva Mutungi of Kenya, who clocked a mark of 1:07:37. Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia followed in second place in 1:08:29.
Behind Chumba were Kana Kobayashi (1:09:09) and Yumi Yoshikawa (1:10:51), both of Japan; while the top eight was completed by Mio Kuroda (1:11:26), Miu Yagi (1:11:40), and Mizuki Matsuda (1:11:46), all also from Japan.
Chumba was competing in the half-marathon for the first time this season. Her personal best in the distance in 1:06:11, which she set during the 2017 season in a race in Denmark.
Chumba is a former Asian vice-champion, an Asian Games gold-medalist, and a World Military Games champion.
Both Balew and Chumba are expected to be amongst Bahrain’s top medal hopefuls at this year’s World Athletics Championships, set to take place in Tokyo from September 13 to 21.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
Top stories for today:
IN SERVICE OF THE COUNTRY: King Hamad expressed pride in BDF personnel for fulfilling their national duties
Man admits stabbing neighbour to death
Alert sounded over rogue jobs or skills opportunities
&uuid=(email))