Dutch standout becomes first European female athlete to run under 30 minutes, eclipsing 2002 mark held by Radcliffe to build momentum entering World Half Marathon Championships; Kejelcha, Kipyegon also earn wins in rainy conditions

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Despite less-than-favorable conditions Saturday at the FBK After Summer Games in Hengelo, Dutch star Sifan Hassan delivered an impressive tuneup for the Oct. 17 World Half Marathon Championships in Poland with a European record in the women’s 10,000 meters.

With a steady rain covering the track at FBK Stadium and race temperatures in the high 40s, Hassan still ran the fourth-fastest time in history by clocking 29 minutes, 36.67 seconds, well ahead of the previous all-time European mark of 30:01.09 set in 2002 by British legend Paula Radcliffe in Germany.

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Hassan was ahead of the world-record pace of Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana from her 29:17.45 performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, with the Dutch athlete covering the first 5,000 meters in 14:37.6.

But Ayana covered the second half of the race in 14:30.35, a pace Hassan couldn’t duplicate Saturday, especially with the challenging weather conditions.

Hassan, whose previous 10,000-meter best was 30:17.62 to win the gold medal at last year’s World Outdoor Championships, also ran the fastest time on European soil. Four of the top six all-time marks came from the 2016 Olympic race in Brazil and Wang Junxia ran the No. 2 all-time performance 29:31.78 in China in 1993.

Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu was second Saturday in 30:57.73, just off her personal-best 30:53.11.

Another Ethiopian athlete, Yomif Kejelcha, won the men’s 5,000 by a 13:12.84 to 13:16.05 margin over Australia’s Stewart McSweyn. Kenya’s Matthew Kimeli placed third in 13:24.54.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon took another aim at the all-time world best 2:28.98 in the women’s 1,000, but prevailed in 2:32.82. Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo took second in 2:40.50.