- Kenyan runners had a fantastic day in the 2025 Beijing Half Marathon and Shanghai Marathon.
- Charles Mbatha Matata and Roncer Kipkorir Konga won the Beijing Half Marathon and Shanghai Half Marathon titles respectively.
- Several other Kenyan athletes finished inside the top three positions in the two road races that were staged in China on Sunday morning.
It has been a glorious Sunday for Kenyan runners in the 2025 Shanghai Half Marathon and Beijing Half Marathon that were held in China.
At the Beijing Half Marathon, Kenyan athletes clinched the top positions in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Charles Mbatha Matata, the twin brother to the recently crowned Meishan Renshou Half Marathon winner Alex Nzioka Matata, won the Beijing Half Marathon men’s title in a time of 1:00.25.
Matata was followed by his countryman Wisley Kipkemoi Yego and Ethiopia’s Getachew Masresha Kidie. Yego managed a time of 1:00.32.
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Kenyan athlete Susy Chebet secures Beijing Half Marathon title
Meanwhile, the women’s crown in the Beijing Half Marathon went to Kenyan road race runner Susy Chebet Chemaimak.
Chemaimak overcame her East African opponents to cut the tape in a course record time of 1:09.07.
The Kenyan was followed by Uganda’s Rispa Cherop and Ethiopia’s Beriha Gebreyohanes Gebreslasie.
Roncer Kipkorir Konga leads Kenyan runners to a podium sweep in Shanghai
Elsewhere, Roncer Kipkorir Konga led his fellow Kenyan citizens Edmond Kipngetich and Isaac Kipkemboi to a clean podium sweep in the 2025 Shanghai Half Marathon.
Konga produced a brilliant kick in the final stages of the race to bag the coveted title in an impressive time of 1:01.07.
He was closely followed by Kipngetich, who clocked 1:01.11 to beat Kipkemboi (1:01.15) to the second position.
On the other hand, only one Kenyan woman managed to finish inside the top three positions in the Shanghai Half Marathon.
Veronicah Njeri Maina, who has performed well in the recent races that she has taken part in, stopped her stopwatch at 1:10.57 to claim second position in a race where Ethiopia’s Ftaw Zeray starred.
Zeray escaped with the title in a course record time of 1:06.36. The third position went to home girl Xu Shuangshuang, who crossed the finishing line in 1:11.07.
The attention of Kenyan marathon fans now shifts to the eagerly awaited 2025 Boston Marathon that is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 21 in the United States.