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Konstanze Klosterhalfen, here at the 2023 European Indoor Championships
Photo:
Oliver Weiken/dpa
The German 5000 meter European champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen made a small statement early in the Olympic year and won the highly competitive road race in Laredo, Spain.
The 27-year-old prevailed over 10 km and beat her previous record over this distance by three seconds.
For Klosterhalfen it was a victory after a long injury break, but she missed the Olympic standard as well as Melat Kejeta's German record (30:47) from 2020. She was in only her third 10-kilometer road race 31:07 minutes faster than at the Cologne New Year's Eve Run 2021, where she completed her fastest road race to date.
The Olympic time was 27 seconds short
After the 27-year-old ended her comeback early after a long break from competition three weeks ago at a half marathon in the United Arab Emirates, this time she ran safely and with a lead to victory.
However, the runner starting for Bayer Leverkusen missed the mark of 30:40 minutes, which would be enough to take part in Paris.
For the first time, the world association also recognizes the results of road races over the same distance.
Klosterhalfen had canceled her start at the German championships in July last year due to a stress reaction in her foot and was then also missing from the following World Championships in Budapest.
She couldn't match her performance before.
The Kenyan Purity Gitonga came second in 31:24 minutes ahead of the Spanish obstacle specialist Irene Sanchez-Escribano (31:35).
In the men's race, Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha clearly won the race in 26:24 minutes.
In the men's category, the two-time indoor world champion Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia won in Laredo, placing third on the all-time best list with a time of 26:37 minutes.
The Olympic Games will take place this summer in Paris (July 26th to August 11th).
ara/dpa/sid