- Kenyan women registered a clean podium sweep in the World Athletics Gold label road race.
- The race was won by Grace Nawowuna Loibach, who clocked a time of 1:07:56, to finish ahead of Sheila Chelangat and Viola Chepngeno.
- Ethiopian men conquered the men’s category where Kenya’s Patrick Mosin settled for a second-place position.
Kenyan women performed exemplary well in the 2025 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Half Marathon in Asia on Sunday morning, January 5.
Grace Nawowuna Loibach led her fellow compatriots to a clean podium sweep in the high profile road race.
The 21-year-old took matters into her own hands in the final stages of the competitive event and never looked back.
She went on to cross the finishing line in a time of 1:07:56, a few seconds ahead of the experienced Sheila Chelangat.
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Chelangat, who trains in South Rift Kenya, clocked 1:08:06 to narrowly edge out her fellow country woman Viola Chepngeno, who managed a time of 1:08:09.
The fourth and fifth positions also went to Kenyans Gladys Chepkurui (1:08:23) and Miriam Chebet (1:09:59) with Kenyan-born Kazakhstani runner Daisy Jepkemei (1:10:08) settling for a seventh position.
Speaking shortly after the showdown, Loibach described the victory as one of the best in her promising road running career.
“I came because it was a strong field, which helped me raise my performance. This is one of the biggest victories of my career.
The organization was everything we could have asked for and Hong Kong is beautiful,” she was quoted by myNEWS.
Milkesa Mengesha escapes with men’s title
In the men’s category, the situation was a little bit different for Kenyans with two Ethiopian runners finishing inside the top three positions.
The reigning Berlin Marathon champion Milkesa Mengesha obliterated the course and went on to cut the tape in a time of 1:01:27.
Mengesha was followed by Kenya’s Patrick Mosin who crossed the finishing line in 1:01:30, more than a minute ahead of Ethiopia’s Haftu Teklu (1:02:54).
Meanwhile, the Kenyan duo of Weldon Kipkirui Langat (1:02:57) and Luke Kiprop (1:02:57) registered fourth and fifth positions in that order.
Top five male finishers
- Milkesa Mengesha: 1:01:27 (Ethiopia)
- Patrick Mosin: 1:01:30 (Kenya)
- Haftu Teklu: 1:02:54 (Ethiopia)
- Weldon Langat: 1:02:57 (Kenya)
- Luke Kiprop: 1:02:57 (Kenya)
Top five female finishers
- Grace Nawowuna Loibach: 1:07:56 (Kenya)
- Sheila Chelangat: 1:08:06 (Kenya)
- Viola Chepngeno: 1:08:09 (Kenya)
- Gladys Chepkurui: 1:08:23 (Kenya)
- Gotytom Gebreslase: 1:08:54 (Ethiopia)
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