Athletics - European Athletics Championships - Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, Britain - August 15, 2026 Gold medallist Spain's Maria Perez wears a tiara and celebrates after winning the women's half marathon race walk REUTERS/Andrew Boyers
15 Aug 2026 05:49PM
BIRMINGHAM, England, Aug 15 : Spain's Maria Perez established the inaugural world record for the women's half-marathon race walk with a time of one hour 30 minutes and six seconds when winning the gold medal at the European Athletics Championships on Saturday.Perez's time was well inside the world record standard of 1:30:30 set by World Athletics in December, and the Spaniard claimed European gold for the first time since winning the 20 km-race in 2018.Italian Alexandrina Mihai was second and Ukraine's Lyudmila Olyanovska took bronze, in the half-marathon race walk which replaces the 20-km race.Perez already holds the world record for the 35-km event, which she set in 2023, and is a four-time world champion.
Source: Reuters
