Mercyline Chelangat’s undefeated season continued on Sunday, April 3, when she won the Poznan half marathon in Poland.
The victory, the 24-year-first old’s in an international 21-kilometer road race this season, came only seven days after her wedding.
And it comes on the heels of victories at the National Cross-Country Championships in Tororo and as per the Source of the marathon in Jinja in February.
Chelangat, who has faced a flameout since her bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth, comfortably saw off competition from Kenya’s Simiyu Lydia and Ethiopian Addisalem Tegegn.
Her time of 1:09:24 was at least a minute off her personal best of 1:08:27 that she set in 2021 at the Barcelona half marathon and Juliet Chekwel’s world half marathon winning time (1:08:44) in Gydnia, Poland, two years back in October.
But Chelangat won’t mind because she had an almost free run to the top of the podium, finishing a minute ahead of Simiyu (1:10:20) and Tegegn (1:10:40). (1:10:21).
Kenyan Lillian Lelei Lilian was fourth with 1:11:05, and Polish lady Izabela Paszkiewicz came fifth (1:11:18).
Ethiopia’s Abate Sikiyas beat a tight men’s race with a time of 1:00:49, almost 26 seconds onwards of Kenyan pair Tafere Adisu (1:01:15) and Chesir Shadrack (1:01:27).
Eritrean Hiskel Ghebru finished fourth at 1:02:19, two seconds ahead of Lema Abera from Ethiopia, who finished fifth.
Meanwhile, Uganda’s Ali Chebures recorded a personal best time as he finished seventh at Spain’s 2022 Edreams Mitja Marató Barcelona half marathon.
Chebures clocked 1:00:53, his individual best time of the season in a race won by Ethiopia’s Haftu Teklu (59:06). Ethiopia’s Chala Regasa (59:10) and Kenya’s Elvis Cheboi (59:15) finished second and third, respectively.
