Kiplimo wins the half marathon in Bogotá – breaking German records!

Kiplimo wins the half marathon in Bogotá – breaking German records!

The Bogota half marathon, which took place on Sunday, produced some impressive performances. Philemon Kiplimo from Kenya secured victory and crossed the finish line after 62:55 minutes. The 26-year-old confirmed his impressive form after recently taking second place in the marathon in Hamburg with a time of 2:04:01 hours. The competition in the Colombian capital is one of the few top-class road races in the summer, but due to the altitude of over 2,600 meters, the times achieved cannot be compared with other, faster half marathon races, as Runners World reports.

Samson Amare from Eritrea secured second place in this half marathon with 63:40 minutes. Benson Kipruto, who also comes from Kenya, came third, just one second behind Amare. In the women's race, Aynalem Desta from Ethiopia put in a strong performance and won in 72:19 minutes. Janeth Mutungi of Kenya followed in second place with 72:49 minutes, while Tsige Haileslase of Ethiopia took third place in 72:57 minutes.

Strong performances in German sport

Aside from the half marathon, history was also made in athletics events in Germany. Robert Farken improved the German mile record at the ISTAF athletics meeting in Berlin on Sunday. The 27-year-old from SG Motor Gohlis Nord ran a time of 3:48.83 minutes and thus secured third place. Narve Gilje Nordas from Norway and Federico Riva from Italy placed ahead of him, the latter also setting a national record. Mohamed Abdilaahi from Cologne Athletics rounded out the top five with 3:49.32 minutes, as Leichtathletik.de reports.

In another context, the German runner Alica Schmidt made headlines after she is fit again after a corona infection, which she caught after her 800 meter best time in Lucerne. Schmidt regrets that she was unable to take part in the ISTAF, but hopes to compete in the upcoming German 800 meter championships in Dresden.

Career conclusions and upcoming competitions

There is also news in the decathlon: Rik Taam from the Netherlands ended his career at the age of 28 due to injuries that had robbed him of his balance in recent years. Taam came fourth at the 2021 European Indoor Championships and set his best of 8,326 points in Ratingen in 2023. His last full decathlon was at the Paris Olympics.

While the athletes focus on the upcoming competitions, German pole vault talents are preparing for the U20 European Championships in Tampere. At the MTG pole vault meeting in Mannheim, numerous talents, including Lars Urich and Paula Legner, have the opportunity to test their skills.

The exciting developments in athletics and the outstanding performances at the half marathon in Bogotá show once again that the sport offers high excitement even during the summer break. The upcoming competitions certainly promise more exciting duels.