By GPC Sports Correspondent

Kenyan runner Dolphine Nyaboke Omare and Ethiopia’s Zerihun Adugna claimed top honours at the 26th edition of the Hyundai Half Marathon in Lisbon, Portugal, on Sunday, as nearly 18,000 runners competed in the half marathon and the EDP 8K.

Adugna won the men’s elite race in 1:02:01 after a closely contested finish, while Omare triumphed in the women’s category in 1:07:25.

In the men’s race, the leading pack remained together until the final kilometre, when Adugna launched a decisive surge to secure victory.

Making his debut over the 21.1km distance, the Ethiopian held off Uganda’s Titus Musau, who finished second in 1:02:05, while Kenya’s Brian Kibet Kogo took third place in 1:02:07.

The men’s course record of 1:00:12, set by Kenya’s Titus Ekiru, remained intact.

In the women’s race, Omare broke away from the leading group at around the 17km mark before powering home to victory.

The Japan-based Kenyan, making her European racing debut, finished 49 seconds ahead of compatriot Margret Gati Chacha, who clocked 1:08:14. Ethiopia’s Kuftu Tahir Dadiso completed the podium in 1:09:04.

Omare had appeared on course to challenge the women’s record of 1:06:54, set by Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir in 2019, during the middle stages of the race. However, she slowed in the closing kilometres, finishing with the fifth-fastest winning time in the event’s history.

In the Portuguese category, Miguel Borges was the first home among the men, finishing 11th overall in 1:05:25.

Salomé Rocha was the best-placed Portuguese woman, securing ninth position in 1:14:09.

Hyundai Half Marathon provisional results

Men

1. Zerihun Adugna Abdeta (Ethiopia) – 1:02:01
2. Titus Musau (Uganda) – 1:02:05
3. Brian Kibet Kogo (Kenya) – 1:02:07

Women

1. Dolphine Nyaboke Omare (Kenya) – 1:07:25
2. Margret Gati Chacha (Kenya) – 1:08:14
3. Kuftu Tahir Dadiso (Ethiopia) – 1:09:04