Antrim Coast Half Marathon: Yalemzerf Yehualaw clinches third win in Northern Ireland event

Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw secured a third win in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon women’s event as Kenya’s Alex Nzioka Matata earned victory in the men’s race.

Yehualaw, who won the 2022 London Marathon, was well clear by halfway and her finishing time of 65 minutes and 34 seconds in wet and windy conditions left her one minute and 16 seconds clear of Kenya’s Loice Chemnung.

Joyciline Jepkosgei, the 2021 London Marathon winner, was expected to be Yehualaw’s main challenger but had to settle for third place, a minute and 33 seconds off the pace.

Amid the inclement weather on the 13-mile course in and around Larne, Yehualaw’s winning time was well outside her personal best of 63:51.

Yehualaw, 25, thought she had set a new world record in her first run in the Northern Ireland event in 2021 after crossing the line in 63:44 but that time was not ratified after the course was found to be 54 metres short.