Kiplagat breaks world half-marathon record

By Bob Ramsak

UDINE, Italy (Reuters) - Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands broke the world women's half-marathon record on Sunday when she clocked one hour six minutes 25 seconds in a largely solo run at the world road running championships.

The defending champion shattered the previous mark of 1:06:44 set by South African Elana Meyer in 1999.

"Everything just went perfect today," Kiplagat told reporters. "With four kilometres left, I realised that the record was possible."

The Kenyan-born Dutchwoman also broke her own world record for 20 kms. Her time of 1:02:57 was 24 seconds faster than her mark set at last year's inaugural championships in Debrecen, Hungary.

The victory netted Kiplagat $80,000 with $30,000 for the victory along with a $50,000 record bonus.

"I heard from people along the course that I was on (record) pace so I kept on pushing," said Kiplagat, who also won the world cross country title in Mombasa, Kenya, last March.

"With two kms to go, I was watching the time on the lead car and at that point I knew that I could do it. I didn't panic and just kept the same pace."

Kiplagat, 33, who has represented the Netherlands since 2003, missed the world athletics championships in Osaka in August with a calf injury.