World Half Women’s Preview
The Kenyan women achieved an unprecedented feat at the 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen by filling the top five places. With a close to full-strength team in Cardiff, Kenya is expected to dominate proceedings in a similar manner this time around.
The team might not be laden with household names, but they boast lifetime bests ranging from 1:06:04 to 1:07:17. All but one of the quintet have set their lifetime bests in the build-up to these championships with three of the team setting those times at the prestigious race in Ras Al Khaimah which more or less acted as a de facto trial race for Cardiff.
The winner on that day was Cynthia Limo, one of the most consistent and prolific road racers in recent years. The 26-year-old secured a place on her first Kenyan team by stopping the clock in one of the fastest times in history of 1:06:04 to defeat 2014 world half marathon champion Gladys Cherono, who has elected to forego her title defence in order to focus on the London Marathon next month.