Jepchirchir runs fastest-ever half marathon in women-only race

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir smashed the world record for the half marathon in women-only races on Saturday, completing a 21.1-kilometre course in Prague in one hour 05.34 minutes.

The 26-year-old shattered the previous record of 1:06:11, set by Netsanet Gudeta of Ethiopia in the women-only event at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2018.

The overall women's half marathon record of 1:04.31 was set by Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh in a mixed-gender race at Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates in February.

Jepchirchir, who held the overall record for two months in 2017, broke away from a small field of nine runners after 20 minutes of the race in the Letna Park and reached the 10-kilometre mark in 30.32 minutes.

She slowed over the second half of the race but was still well inside the previous record.

"I'm satisfied with the result although I thought I could have run 1:04:50," she said. "I was really tired for the last five kilometres."

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Hugh Lawson)