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Daniel Ebenyo managed to set a course record as he emerged as the winner at the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, on Sunday, December 17, 2023.

Ebenyo and the winner in the women’s category, Sutume Asefa Kebede, achieved two of the fastest 25km performances of all time.

Ebenyo clocked 1:11:13 to claim the men’s crown, as Victor Kipruto Togom came in second after timing 1:12:26.

Ebenyo and Togom were dominant in the race and broke away to claim the first two positions for more than a minute.

Ebenyo led the rivals for much of the race and timing 43:01 for 15km. Togom tried to overtake the silver medal winner at the World Championships in Budapest at 10,000m. But the winner fought off the competition and increased his pace after 19km (59:12) before he broke away from Togom to run a solo race from that point.

However, both Ebenyo and Togom finished inside the previous event record of 1:12:49, but Ebenyo’s mark is the second-fastest official 25km of all time, behind only Eliud Kipchoge’s 1:11:08 that he set en route to his world marathon record of 2:01:09 in Berlin last year.

In the women’s category, Kebede led her Ethiopian compatriots to sweep the first and second positions, while Betty Chepkemoi came in third.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw was making her 25km race debut, and the world 10km record-holder and last year’s London Marathon winner did not disappoint.

Kebede, a 2020 Tokyo Marathon third-place finisher, showed an intense desire to win as she applied pressure in the ultimate kilometre and eventually won by 39 seconds.

By clocking 1:18:47, Kebede improved on the previous event record of 1:21:04 and the previous stand-alone 25km world best of 1:19:53 set by Mary Keitany 13 years ago.

“I wanted to run faster, but in the end, I am happy with my timing. It is a good course with good weather conditions, which made it easier for me,” Kebede said, as per World Athletics.

Tata Steel Kolkata leading results:

Men
1 Daniel Ebenyo (KEN) 1:11:13
2 Victor Kipruto Togom (KEN) 1:12:26
3 Tesfaye Demeke (ETH) 1:13:36
4 Haymanot Alew (ETH) 1:13:44
5 Abe Gashahun (ETH) 1:13:51

Women
1 Sutume Asefa Kebede (ETH) 1:18:47
2 Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 1:19:26
3 Betty Chepkemoi Kibet (KEN) 1:21:43
4 Emebet Niguse (ETH) 1:22:43
5 Nelly Jeptoo (KEN) 1:23:00