{"id":2000115649,"date":"2026-06-14T16:11:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T14:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000115649"},"modified":"2026-06-17T17:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:44:20","slug":"kipm-rwandan-women-sweep-half-marathon-medals-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/kipm-rwandan-women-sweep-half-marathon-medals-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"KIPM: Rwandan women sweep half-marathon medals (Photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 21st edition of the peace-themed race, which has been held since 2005, both started and finished at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event attracted senior officials, including the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Candy Basomingera; World Athletics Vice President Jackson Tuei; and RAF President Col (Rtd) Kayumba Lemuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s edition featured only the Full Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday, following Saturday\u2019s \u201cRun for Peace\u201d 10km race, which attracted 4,197 participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time, the Full Marathon started at 6:30 a.m., a scheduling adjustment aimed at mitigating the impact of Kigali\u2019s rising daytime temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 518 athletes, including elite international runners, lined up for the marathon following the official start signal from PS Basomingera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The marathon route ran through key parts of Kigali, including Amahoro Stadium, Chez Lando, Gishushu, MTN Nyarutarama, Kigali Convention Centre, University of Kigali, Kacyiru, MINAGRI, the U.S. Ambassador\u2019s residence area, Kimihurura, Kigali Heights, and surrounding city roads before returning to Amahoro Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the men\u2019s Full Marathon, Kenya\u2019s Namutala delivered a record-breaking performance, winning in 2:14:19, the fastest time recorded in the event\u2019s history in Kigali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was followed closely by compatriot Shadrack Kimining, who finished second, while fellow Kenyan Bernard Kipkorir took third place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top eight finishers included Bazezew Asmare Belay (Ethiopia), Kaan Kigen \u00d6zbilen (Turkey), Julius Ochieng (Uganda), Rwanda\u2019s Ntirenganwa Fid\u00e8le, and Kipkirui Langat (Kenya).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the women\u2019s Full Marathon, Kenya\u2019s Ivyne Jeruto secured victory in 2:35:35, also setting the fastest women\u2019s winning time in Kigali\u2019s marathon history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was followed by Ethiopia\u2019s Tegest Ayalew Ymer, who finished 41 seconds behind, while compatriot Tsega Desta Mehari took third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other top-eight finishers included Viola Munerya (Uganda), Dolphine Kemunto Nyagaka (Kenya), Mabre Haile Degefa (Ethiopia), Rita Jelagat (Kenya), and Dorine Jerop Murkomen (Kenya).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Half Marathon (21km), which featured 2,942 athletes across both categories, began at 8:15 a.m., with runners completing a single loop of the full marathon course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the men\u2019s Half Marathon, Kenya\u2019s Amos Kirui won in 1:04:16, followed by Uganda\u2019s Oscar Kibet, while Zakariah Kirika Gacugu of Kenya placed third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other top-eight finishers included Mark Biryomumeisho (Uganda), Titus Kipchirchir Kibet (Kenya), Tanui Nicholas Kipkoech (Kenya), Jamal Kipron Kipkosgei (Kenya), and Rwanda\u2019s John Hakizimana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the women\u2019s Half Marathon, Rwandan athletes delivered a dominant performance, sweeping the podium. Ibishatse Ang\u00e9lique claimed gold in 1:13:30, followed by Mutuyimana Berthilde (silver, +24 seconds) and Tuyambaze Thabita (bronze, +37 seconds).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result ensured that the women\u2019s Half-Marathon medals remained in Rwanda despite strong competition from international runners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other top finishers included Mercy Jepkemoi Kipyego (Kenya), Byukusenge Devotha (Rwanda), Lelei Lilian Jepkemboi (Kenya), Kilel Caroline (Kenya), and Lolima Irine Chepkorir (Kenya).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prize money for the Full Marathon winners (men and women) stood at $20,000 for first place, $15,000 for second, and $7,500 for third. Fourth place received $5,000, fifth $3,000, while sixth to eighth earned $2,000, $1,500, and $1,000 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Half Marathon, winners in both categories received $5,000, with $4,000 for second place and $3,000 for third. Fourth to eighth places received $2,000, $1,000, $800, $500, and $400 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kigali International Peace Marathon remains a World Athletics Elite Label road race. This year\u2019s edition also featured 22 Gold Label athletes as part of ongoing efforts to elevate its competitive standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Kephar Lumbasi Namutala won the 2026 Kigali International Peace Marathon in the men\u2019s category.
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Shadrack Kimining finished second in the men\u2019s category.

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Ivyne Jeruto of Kenya won the 2026 Kigali International Peace Marathon in the women\u2019s category.

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Tegest Ayalew Ymer of Ethiopia finished second in the women\u2019s category.

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Tsega Desta Mehari finished third in the women\u2019s Full Marathon.

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Ibishatse Ang\u00e9lique won the gold medal after finishing first in the women\u2019s Half-Marathon.

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Mutuyimana Berthilde finished second in the women\u2019s Half-Marathon.

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Byukusenge Devotha finished fifth in the women\u2019s Half-Marathon.

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Tuyambaze Thabita finished third in the women\u2019s Half-Marathon.

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Kenya\u2019s Amos Kirui won the Half Marathon in the men\u2019s category.

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Uganda\u2019s Oscar Kibet finished second in the men\u2019s Half-Marathon.

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Rwanda\u2019s John Hakizimana finished eighth in the men\u2019s Half-Marathon.

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Kenya\u2019s Kephar Lumbasi Namutala and Ivyne Jeruto claimed victory in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s categories respectively at the Kigali International Peace Marathon held on Sunday, June 14, 2026. However, Rwandan athletes dominated the women\u2019s Half-Marathon, sweeping all three medals on home soil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000115661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151,72],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000115649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","tag-featured-news-home","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000115661,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/whatsapp_image_2026-06-14_at_1.22_53_pm-702cf.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":666,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/whatsapp_image_2026-06-14_at_1.22_53_pm-702cf.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/whatsapp_image_2026-06-14_at_1.22_53_pm-702cf.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/whatsapp_image_2026-06-14_at_1.22_53_pm-702cf.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/whatsapp_image_2026-06-14_at_1.22_53_pm-702cf.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/whatsapp_image_2026-06-14_at_1.22_53_pm-702cf.jpg","width":1000,"height":666}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000115649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000115699,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000115649\/revisions\/2000115699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000115661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000115649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000115649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000115649"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000115649"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000115649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}