Ethiopia’s Nibret Melak beat a strong deep elite field that included the World 10km record holder, Rhonex Kipruto at the 32nd edition of the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon held on Sunday (12) in Lisbon, Portugal.
The 23 year-old took on his compatriot Hagos Berhe, Kipruto and Vincent Ngetich as they through the 5km in 13:32, 10km mark in 28:11 but Melak who had been dropped managed to close the gap with the two as he pushed the pace going through the 15km mark in 41:47.
Kipruto was dropped at the 20km as Melak, Berhe and Ngetich broke away from 10km record holder but Melak who was making the debut over the distance, pulled a surprise kick to cut the tape first in a life time best of 59:06 with Berhe forced to settle in second in 59:07 and Ngetich closing the podium three finishes in 59:10.
Kipruto finished in fourth in 59:22 with New Zealand’s Jake Robertson finishing in fifth place in 1:00.05.
LEADING RESULTS
21KM MEN
- Nibret Melak (ETH) 59:06
- Hagos Berhe (ETH) 59:10
- Vincent Ngetich (KEN) 59:22
- Rhonex Kipruto (KEN) 59:22
- Jake Robertson (NZL) 1:00.05
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