Klosterhalfen makes strong half-marathon debut in Valencia win

The 5,000 metres European champion Klosterhalfen clocked 1 hour 5 minutes 41 seconds as she beat Tsigie Gebreselama by five seconds in the Spanish city, reported dpa.

Only Dutch Sifan Hassan (1:05:15) and another German, Melat Kejeta (1:05:18), have been faster Europeans over the 21.0975km distance.

The world record is 1:02:52 hours, achieved by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey last year in Valencia.

"I am very surprised and thrilled by what I have achieved," Klosterhalfen told broadcasters Eurosport.

She said there was room for improvement because she lost some time on the final three kilometres, stating: "I will work on this in the next race and hopefully I can break the German record."

The men's race Sunday was won by Kenyan contender Kibiwott Kandie in 58:10 minutes.