Posted: July 18, 2007

Athletics (RRW): IAAF Ratifies Half-Marathon World Record

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com The IAAF announced today that they had ratified Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru's most recent world record for the half-marathon, but had rejected his previous mark for lack of a proper doping control. Also, Wanjiru's record was ratified at a value two seconds faster than was previously reported. At the Fortis City-Pier-City Half-Marathon in Den Haag on Saturday, March 17, Wanjiru was clocked at 58 minutes and 35 seconds, his second pending world record set this year (he also ran 58:53 at then Ras Al Khaimah International Half-Marathon in the United Arab Emirates on February 9). Surprisingly, Wanjiru's mark from Den Haag has been revised downward by two seconds to 58:33. No explanation was given for the revision. Wanjiru's previous record from the UAE was rejected by the IAAF because the athlete did not undergo a doping test for EPO, the blood-boosting drug which elevates the concentration of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. The new record surpasses Haile Gebrselassie's IAAF-ratified mark of 58:55 set in Phoenix, Ariz., on January 15, 2006, in a special record attempt held in conjunction with the P.F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Half-Marathon. Wanjiru, 20, remains the only man to break the 59-minute barrier twice. He has stated his intention to compete in two of the world's most competitive half-marathons this fall: the Great North Run in Newcastle, England, on September 30, and the IAAF World Road Running Championshp in Udine, Italy, on October 14. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest