ATHLETICS – BAHRAIN’S Mimi Belete powered to an impressive victory in the women’s half marathon at the Runner’s Lab Bashir’s Run, held in Gentbrugge, Belgium.
Belete was competing amongst a high-quality field of world-class runners from across Europe.
The 37-year-old veteran athlete, who is a former Asian Games champion, completed the 21.1-kilometre distance in a dominant one hour 10 minutes and eight seconds. It was not far from her personal best of 1:08:16, which she set in 2019 in a race in Japan.
Belete finished comfortably ahead of the rest of the field, which was spearheaded by Malejeva Mathijs of Belgium, who clocked a mark of 1:12:43. Elisabetta Ribera D’alcala’ from Italy joined them on the podium after finishing third in 1:13:10.
A pair of Belgian runners completed the top five, including Valentine Mathy in 1:13:14 and Elisa Vancolen in 1:13:25.
Belete appeared in a competitive international race for the second time this year. Last month, she ran the women’s event in the Dubai Marathon in the UAE, where she was classified 14th after finishing in 2:27:04.
In October of last year, Belete competed in the Kosice Peace Marathon in Slovakia, where she ranked eighth overall in 2:37:12. It was her first official run in a major international event since 2020.
Aside from her Asian Games gold, which she won in the women’s 5,000m in 2010 in China, Belete also has a pair of Asiad silver medals in the 5,000m and 1,500m, along with a bronze in the 1,500m. Belete also claimed a 1,500m silver medal in the Asian championships in 2013.
The Runner’s Lab Bashir’s Run was held in its sixth edition. It featured several other categories, with the half marathons for both women and men also serving as the official Belgian Half Marathon Championship.
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