Renju and Jepletingová won the Prague Half Marathon, the best Czech was Homoláč
Updates: 02.04.2022 12:34
Released: 02.04.2022, 11:51
Prague – Kenyan Kenneth Kiprop Renju and his compatriot Nesphine Jepleting won the Prague half marathon of the RunCzech series, which returned to the traditional track through the historic city center after three years. Jiří Homoláč was the best Czech in the freezing weather. The best racers ran under the hour, but the men’s 58:47 track resisted. Renju finished time at 59:28.
The race was led by four African runners. Renju decided on his triumph when crossing the Manes Bridge a few hundred meters before the finish at Rudolfinum, when he separated from the eighth man in the historical tables, Philemon Kiplim.
“I’m happy. It was very cold, so I didn’t run a personal record. I’m happy for the victory,” Renju, 25, told Czech Television, who improved his personal maximum to 58:35 during a race in the United Arab Emirates in February this year. He would like to return to Prague. “This track is fast. A world record can be set here. Despite the conditions, it was fast,” he added.
The third Matthew Kimeli also got under the hour, condemning Benard Kimeli, the winner of the last two classic years of the Prague Half Marathon from 2018 and 2019, to fourth place. The role of the biggest Czech favorite was confirmed by Homoláč, who ran the half marathon best since 2019. At 1:04:36, he still felt due to the conditions of the reserve.
“It was challenging today, the wind was pretty windy. We took turns with the boys, but it was a fight. I’m glad that after two years I showed a beautiful performance again and I believe it will be even better. Because I have trained,” said Homoláč. “I believe that in ideal conditions it would be 63 or maybe even 62, that’s hard to say now,” he added.
Kenyan Nesphine Jepleting won the women’s race. The 25-year-old female runner was the only woman to get under an hour and seven minutes. With a time of 1:06:57, she defeated Irina Cheptai by nineteen seconds. “The weather surprised me, I didn’t expect it to be so cold. The worst was the headwind, which made it really hard at times,” she said.
Brenda Jepleting, the favored member of the RunCzech Racing Team, finished third (1:08:39). The best Czech was Hana Homolková (1:20:31), who with today’s win followed last year’s triumphs in the half marathons of the RunCzech series in Karlovy Vary, Olomouc, Ústí nad Labem and České Budějovice.
Prague Half Marathon:
Men: 1. Renju 59:28, 2. Kiplimo 59:33, 3. M. Kimeli (all of Kenya) 59:46, … 14. Homoláč 1:04:36, 19. J. Zemaník 1:07:01, 20. Křivohlávek (all CR) 1:07:11.
women: 1. N. Jepleting 1:06:57, 2. Cheptai 1:07:16, 3. B. Jepleting (all Kenya) 1:08:39, … Homolková 1:20:31, Kamínková 1:21: 21, Rusínová (all Czech Republic) 1:24:05.