At the adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany, on Saturday, Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the World 800m silver medallist, made an impressive debut in the mile by breaking the world road mile record with a time of 3:54.5. The 19-year-old Kenyan surpassed the previous record set by Hobbs Kessler of the USA at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga in October.
Despite celebrating before crossing the finish line, Wanyonyi managed to secure the record, with Kessler finishing in second place with a time of 3:56.1 and Ryan Mphahlele of South Africa coming in third at 3:56.4. The event also included a rare road 800m race won by Canada’s Marco Arop, who had previously beaten Wanyonyi to the world title in Budapest.
Agnes Ngetich of Kenya put up a strong performance in the women’s 10km, finishing just two seconds off the women-only world record set by the late Agnes Tirop at the same event in 2021. Ngetich’s time of 30:03 was impressive, and she wore a limited-edition kit in honor of Tirop during the race.
In the women’s 5km race, Medina Eisa, the world U20 5000m champion, set a new record for the fastest women’s road 5km by an U20 athlete with a time of 14:38. The event in Herzogenaurach showcased some exceptional talent and set the stage for more exciting races to come.