• ATHLETICS

• Frank Rotich 3 months ago

Three-time world half marathon champ Kamworor ends 2025 in style

Three-time world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor closed his 2025 season on a high note after claiming a comfortable victory at the San Silvestre Vallecana 10km road race in Madrid, Spain.

Kamworor was in full control from the start of the race on Wednesday, December 31, setting a strong pace that none of his rivals could match.

The Kenyan star crossed the finish line in 27 minutes and 41 seconds, ending the year with confidence after a challenging few months.

The 33-year-old, who was keen to bounce back from a seventh-place finish at the Chicago Marathon in October, took the lead early and never looked back.

He was closely followed in the opening stages by Spaniards Aaron Las Heras, Jesus Ramos and Nassim Haasous as the leading group stormed through the first three kilometres in a fast 8:06.

As the race progressed, Kamworor began to stretch the field. Haasous and Las Heras dropped off shortly after the fourth kilometre, leaving Kamworor and Ramos to battle at the front.

The pair reached the halfway mark in 13:28 before Kamworor’s superior pace finally broke Ramos’ resistance just after 19 minutes.

From that point, the two-time world cross country champion ran alone to the finish, extending his lead to win by 15 seconds. Ramos settled for second place, while Las Heras completed the podium with a time of 28:00.

The victory saw Kamworor join an elite list of Kenyan greats, including Eliud Kipchoge, Mike Kigen and Leonard Komen, who have all won at the historic Madrid race.

Elsewhere in Europe, Kenyan youngster Charles Rotich finished sixth at the BOclassic Alto Adige road race in Bolzano, Italy. The 20-year-old stayed with the leading group in the early laps but faded towards the end to clock 28:36.

The Italian race was won by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who set a new course record of 27:42.

For Kamworor, the Madrid win was the perfect way to end 2025 and a strong signal of his intent heading into the new season.