Kenyan's dominate Sunday road races in Europe and Asia

Brian Kibor underlined Kenya’s road-running pedigree with a commanding performance at the Santa Pola Half Marathon in Spain on Sunday, spearheading a clean sweep of the men’s podium.

‎Kibor stormed to victory in 1:00:49, finishing well clear of compatriot Simon Maywa, who clocked 1:02:59 for second place, while Kipkandie Mkulia completed the Kenyan top-three sweep in 1:03:03.

‎The Santa Pola triumph saw Kibor launch his 2026 campaign emphatically, picking up seamlessly from where he left off after a largely impressive 2025 season.

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‎‎Last year, Kibor opened his season on a disappointing note, placing 24th at the Valencia 10K after clocking 27:46.

‎‎However, the 25-year-old quickly rediscovered his rhythm at the Castellón 10K, where he finished third in 27:05.

‎‎Another dip followed at the Sirikwa Classic Cross Country Tour, where Kibor placed 11th in the senior men’s 10km, timing 30:48.

‎‎He, however, rebounded strongly with a second-place finish at the Lille half marathon (1:00:15), claimed victory in the 10,000m at the Leiden Meeting (27:29.38), powered to another win at the Porto Half Marathon (1:00:12) and rounded off the season with a podium finish at the Valencia Half Marathon, placing third in 58:39.

‎‎Kibor then crowned his year in style at the Ekiden Road Relay in Paris, combining with Elisha Kiprop, Amos Kipkemoi, Edward Cheserek, John Lomoni and Ezra Ondiso to secure victory as the team clocked an impressive 1:58:05.

‎In the women’s race at Santa Pola, Kenya’s Daisilah Jerono delivered a composed run to take top honours in 1:07:27.

‎Uganda’s Esther Chebet settled for second in 1:08:13, while Sweden’s Hanna Lindholm completed the podium in 1:12:03.

‎‎Elsewhere on Sunday, Vincent Kipchimba continued Kenya’s fine road-running form by winning the Montferland Half Marathon in the Netherlands, clocking 1:01:39.

‎‎At the Hong Kong Marathon, Kenya’s Silas Kiprono (2:09:56) and Francis Langat (2:09:59) claimed second and third, respectively, finishing just behind Ethiopia’s Melaku Bizuneh, who won in 2:09:39.

‎‎In the women’s race, Linet Masai placed third in 2:29:23, behind Bahrain’s Shitaye Eshete (2:27:03) and Ethiopia’s Nigisti Tesfay (2:29:13).