Rodrigue Kwizera won the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday 25 October in 58:03, lowering the Spanish record by more than a minute and a half and running three seconds faster than the European record of 58:06 held by Sweden’s Andreas Almgren. The Burundi-born runner, who became a Spanish citizen this year, took the previous national mark of 59:39, set by Carlos Mayo in Valencia in 2023, apart on a course renowned for fast times.
The performance will not, however, be ratified as a European record for the time being. World Athletics has not yet approved the transfer of allegiance that would allow Kwizera to represent Spain internationally, which means that his 58:03 is not yet eligible. The consequence is that Almgren retains the official European record, with Kwizera’s run standing as the second-fastest half marathon by a European on the all-time list, three seconds behind the Swede.
The men’s podium was separated by just nine seconds. Thierry Ndikumwenayo was second in 58:09, which also beat the old Spanish record, and Victor Kipruto was third in 58:12. Kwizera arrived in strong form, having won in Prague in 58:16 in March and having run 26:01 for 10 kilometres in Madrid in May, a time that was well inside the world record but came on a course that could not produce a ratifiable mark. The top Spaniard home on the day, Aarón de las Heras, ran 1:00:08.
The women’s race was decided by a single second. Sheila Chepkirui won in 1:03:51, a world-leading time for 2026 that equals the mark Yalemzerf Yehualaw set in Valencia in 2021, with Kenya’s Diana Wanza in second and Daisilah Jerono third in 1:04:11. Organisers described the field as the highest-level women’s line-up in the race’s history on average, with the top ten finishing inside 1:05:40.
There was also national-record success in the women’s race for Spain’s Laura Luengo, who finished 20th in 1:08:28 to lower the Spanish women’s half marathon record. Almgren, whose European record Kwizera so narrowly missed, will turn his attention to a different challenge this weekend, when he makes his marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday 1 November.