Efrem Gidey breaks Irish half marathon record in Copenhagan

IRISH HALF MARATHON RECORD: Efrem Gidey set a new Irish record in the half marathon in Copenhagen this morning, the 24-year-old clocking 1:00:51 to finish 15th in a race won by Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe in 58:05. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Efrem Gidey set a new Irish record in the half marathon in Copenhagen this morning, the 24-year-old clocking 1:00:51 to finish 15th in a race won by Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe in 58:05.

The previous Irish record was the 1:00:57 run by Martin Fagan in Den Haag in 2009, two years before he tested positive for EPO. Alistair Cragg ran two seconds faster than Gidey's time in New York in 2011, clocking 1:00:49, which was not ratified as an Irish record due to the course’s net elevation drop. Subject to ratification, Gidey's mark will stand as the new Irish record.