Belgrade “10K” Breaks All Records with Kenyan Dominance

Kenyan athletes Amos Kiprotich and Brenda Jepchirchir were the winners of the Belgrade 10K Nike Run, organized by the Belgrade Marathon, held on the course near Friendship Park at Ušće. In the men’s race, Kiprotich covered the 10-kilometer distance in 28:01, breaking the course record by an impressive 25 seconds.

Second place went to his compatriot Charles Rotich (28:06), while Daniel Tumaka Kosen (28:11), also from Kenya, crossed the finish line in third. A course record was also broken in the women’s race. Kenya’s Jepchirchir claimed victory with a time of 31:50, improving the previous best by an impressive 22 seconds. Fellow Kenyan Valentine Jebet (32:06) finished second, while another Kenyan, Polly Yakinti Kavindu (33:10), took third place.

The Belgrade 10K was organized in cooperation with the Serbian Athletics Federation and also served as the national 10K championship. Serbia’s top middle- and long-distance runner, Elzan Bibić, claimed the national champion title, finishing in 29:23, which placed him seventh overall. In the women’s national competition, the title went to Mejra Mehmedović with a time of 35:56.

In addition to the course records, the Belgrade 10K Nike Run also set a new record for participation, bringing together a total of 5,000 runners—20 percent more than last year. Because of this, Darko Habuš, director of the Belgrade Marathon, expressed particular pride:

“We truly had a spectacular running event, and the Belgrade 10K Nike Run lived up to its reputation as a fast 10K, with records broken in both the men’s and women’s races. Once again, we’ve shown that year after year we keep raising the bar when it comes to the elite race. As for the national 10K championship, Elzan Bibić ran slightly slower than the national record, but we’ll have the chance to see him again at the Autumn Half Marathon. I believe all the other participants enjoyed the organization of the entire event, and we’re looking forward to the rest of the running season, with the Women’s Race and the Autumn Half Marathon ahead. We’ll continue working hard and raising standards for races organized by the Belgrade Marathon, all for the joy and satisfaction of the growing running community in Serbia,” said Habuš.