Kenyans Matata and Kibet Masai set half-marathon course records in Delhi and Rome

Kenya's Charles Matata won the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon in a course record of 58 minutes and 52 seconds in New Delhi on 18 October 2026, and on the same day in Italy fellow Kenyan Filex Kibet Masai set a course record of 59:22 to win the Wizz Air Rome Half Marathon.

Matata, 29, took one second off the Delhi mark of 58:53 set by Ethiopia's Amedework Walelegn in 2020, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. It was also his fastest half marathon, improving on the 59:15 he ran to win the half marathon at the Rimi Riga Marathon in Latvia on 17 May 2026. World Athletics, which lists him as Charles Mbatha Matata, now gives 58:52 as his personal best.

Kenyans took the top three places in Delhi. Samwel Nyamai Mailu was second in 59:24 and Stanley Waithaka Mburu third in 59:33. The race, a World Athletics Gold Label event, finished at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in humidity of around 90 per cent and a temperature of around 21°C.

Matata collects the winner's purse of US$27,000 and a further US$12,000 for breaking the course record.

His win came a year after his twin brother, Alex Matata, won the same race in 59:50. Charles Matata was second in Delhi in 2023 in 1:00:05. The brothers met at the Istanbul Half Marathon on 19 April 2026, where Alex won and Charles finished second, both timed at 1:00:01, results from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) show. Charles Matata also won the Beijing Half Marathon on 20 April 2025, China Daily said in its race report.

In the women's race in Delhi, Ethiopia's Wudinesh Alemu won in 1:06:35. Kenyans Selah Busienei and Cynthia Chelangat Chepkwony were second and third in 1:07:01 and 1:07:32. The men's and women's winners each received US$27,000, and nearly 40,000 people took part in the day's races.

In Rome, Kibet Masai, 24, improved on the course record of 59:44 set by Kenya's Simon Maywa in 2025. Ethiopia's Ataklti Kidanu was second in 59:38, and Kenyans filled the next three places: Elisha Kiprop in 1:00:13, Robert Keter in 1:00:37 and Kelvin Kipruto in 1:00:45.

The men's race was decided at around the 13th kilometre, when Kibet Masai changed pace and pulled clear to finish alone on Via degli Annibaldi, the Italian running site The Running Club reported. Kidanu was running his first half marathon, and Kiprop's time was a personal best. Keter also ran a personal best, while Kipruto narrowly missed his.

Kibet Masai, born on 5 February 2002, has a 10km road best of 27:19, set on 5 September 2026.

In the women's race, Ethiopia's Netsanet Desta won in 1:07:26, improving her personal best by almost a minute. Kenya's Regina Wambui Ndungu was second in 1:07:48 and Ethiopia's Yalemget Yaregal third in 1:08:22. The three passed 10km together in 31:48. Yaregal dropped back first. Desta and Ndungu fought it out over the second half of the course, including near Piazza del Popolo, and Desta pulled away shortly after the 18th kilometre.

Ndungu's half-marathon best remains 1:07:10, from 8 March 2026.

The Rome race had 40,000 entrants, a participation record. More than 22,000 took part in 2025.