Charles Matata of Kenya won the 21st Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday in 58:52, an event record that took one second off the 58:53 set by Amedework Walelegn in 2020. Matata, 29, is the twin brother of Alex Matata, who won the 2025 edition in 59:50, and had finished second in Delhi in 2023. He also won the Rimi Riga Marathon in May in 59:15.
The race was fast from the gun. Pacemaker Emmanuel Yegon took the field through the opening quarter in 13:56, a record pace, and Matata reached 10 kilometres in 27:41, 15 kilometres in 41:39 and 20 kilometres in 55:53. Kenya swept the podium, with Samwel Nyamai Mailu second in 59:24 and Stanley Mburu third in 59:33.
Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese, who arrived chasing a third Delhi title, finished fourth, nearly a minute behind Mburu. The pre-race favourite in the women's race, Kenya's Irine Cheptai, also missed the podium, finishing fourth in 1:07:33 after leading through the first 5 kilometres in 15:55.
That opened the way for one of the stories of the day. Ethiopia's Wudinesh Alemu Keneni, who is 19 and had run only one previous half marathon, a third place in 1:08:08 at last year's Cardiff Half Marathon, won in 1:06:35. Kenya's Selah Busienei was second in 1:07:01 and Cynthia Chepkwony third in 1:07:32.
In the Indian Elite category, 20-year-old Shailesh Kushwaha won the men's race in 1:05:05, six seconds clear of Gaurav Mathur, with Hemant Singh third in 1:05:37. Ankita Dhyani, a World University Games steeplechase silver medallist who trains in the United States, won the women's title in 1:12:46, more than five minutes faster than her previous best; former champion Lili Das was fourth in a personal best of 1:16:20. The total prize purse was USD 275,732, and Matata collected USD 42,000 including his record and sub-60 bonuses.