Hellen Ekalale during the Athletics Kenya Cross Country Series in Olkalou /FILE
Despite winning, Japan-based Hellen Ekalale has blamed strong winds for curtailing her ambitious target to post an even faster time at the Valencia Ibercaja 10km road race on Sunday.

Ekalale clocked 29:30, leading from start to finish to outpace Ethiopia’s Girmawit Gebrzihair ( 29:34 ) and Fotyen Tesfay ( 29:42 ) in a thrilling showdown.

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The 25-year-old was ecstatic as she celebrated her maiden win of the year.

“I enjoyed the race today. I was really happy with the course and the spectators gave me a lot of confidence to push on,” she noted.

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However, she acknowledged the challenging windy conditions that slowed her down.

“It was windy, I was targeting a faster time but the wind was a big hindrance but I am happy with the victory,” she added.

 Ekalale’s 29:30 places her fourth on the all-time fastest women’s 10km road race list.

The mark to beat over the distance remains with Agnes Ngetich, who clocked 28:46 on the same course last year with Immaculate Anyango ( 28:57 ) and Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia ( 29:14 ) following closely in second and third.

Ekalale’s triumph in Valencia extends the momentum from her remarkable 2024 season, which saw her dominate both track and cross-country events. 

She closed the year with a commanding win at the Athletics Kenya (AK) Cross Country Series in Ol Kalou on December 14, clocking 35:53.1 over 10km, ahead of Christine Njoki ( 36:25.1 ) and Joylin Cherotich ( 37:13.1 ).

Her stellar form was evident earlier in December 1, where she won the 5000m at the Nittaidai Challenge Games in Japan in 14:45.66.

Before that, Ekalale had secured the 5000m title at the Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup on September 28 with a time of 15:08.51 and claimed the 1500m crown at the Central Japan Corporate Teams Athletics Championships in May, clocking 4:18.16.

Reflecting on her Valencia performance, Ekalale attributed her success to meticulous preparation.

“The men’s race in Valencia also delivered fireworks, with Sweden’s Andreas Almgren setting a new European record of 26:52 to edge Switzerland’s Dominic Lobalu ( 26:53 ) and Kenya’s Vincent Langat ( 26:54 ).

Daniel Kinyanjui and Bernard Langat finished just outside the podium in fourth ( 27:05 ) and sixth ( 7:10 ) respectively.