Records in the Ibiza Half Marathon 2025 in a fast and disputed course

The Kenyan athlete Samum Deborah gets the female record of the race with a time of 1:10:33 lowering by 18 seconds the previous one. In the men’s race, still without achieving the record of the 12 editions run, the athlete from Bahrain Hassan el Abassi won with an outstanding time of 1:02:20

The Paralympic medalist Elena Congost shines in her return to competition with a new guide after the setback of Paris 2024 in a historic Ibiza Half Marathon, and therefore also a record one, with 3,600 participants.

After a week of Levante with gray skies on the White Island, Saturday April 5 dawned with Mediterranean pantone light and spring-like temperatures between hot in the sun and cool in the shade. This ideal weather for an Ibiza Half Marathon 2025 of record has been maintained until the start time, with the starting gun at 18 hours in Sant Josep de Sa Talaia. A human tide of 3,600 registered runners from 35 countries started the 21 km that separated them from the finish line with the elite runners at the head stronger than ever.

Beyond the records and the crowd, the protagonist in the IMM was the Paralympic medalist Elena Congost who, after the setback of Paris 2024, returned to competition in her first official race with the target of the Los Angeles 2028 JJPP in mind. The Adidas athlete competed with Dani Becerra, president of Club Atletismo Ibiza, as her new official guide and nutritionist, Roger Sans, was unable to attend due to injury.

The athlete, silver medalist in London 2012 in 1500 m. T12 and gold in Rio de Janeiro 2016 in marathon T12, has achieved a time of 1:43:10 and in women has been in 87th position. After entering the finish line she commented that “it has been a very good test to return to the high competition, I have gone relatively quiet as my guide was the ‘hare’ of the mark 1h 43” so I have adapted to him enjoying a fun test and that I recommend”. On the other hand, the Catalan has recognized that “it has been impressive the support that people have shown me, with many signs of affection, next year I’ll be back”. Gurb has dedicated this race, which opens a new stage in her sporting life, to her four children.

The long-awaited record

In Women, the two Kenyans Sumun Deborah and Nancy Jepleting have starred in a fierce fight that has been decided in favor of Deborah, the most experienced. She crossed the finish line with a meteoric time of 1:10:33, beating the record held by the Kenyan Maurine Jemutai Toroitich with 1:10:51 achieved in the 2023 edition. The two African athletes went through km 5 aimed at record with 16 minutes at that point and from the slopes of km 8 the athlete of 29 years has put the direct to finish imposing clearly. Jepleting has entered the finish line with 1:11:58 and the third in the drawer has been the French Latifa Mokhtari with 1:14:08.

The men, the big favorite has not disappointed and has won the gold. Hassan El Abassi (Bahrain) has entered as an exhalation although it has not been enough to emulate Deborah and get record. Abassi has entered with 1:02:20 being the best historical time of this event the one of 2023 achieved by the Kenyan Josphat Mutisya Mutula marking 1h 01m 48s.

Abassi has started the route of the Ibiza Half Marathon 2025 in its initial downhill part printing a strong pace from the start in San Josep. After 5 km, the leading group, formed by Hassan El Abassi (Bahrain) and Moahamed El Ghazouani (Morocco), who was second in 2024, were already escaped and with 30 seconds of improvement of the intermediate time of record with 14’10” to face Cala Jondal, enjoying spectacular views of the Mediterranean and with the legs still fresh.

The Abassi promised much passing through km 10 improving by 14 seconds of the record time separated by a few good meters of El Ghazouani. It seemed that the only athlete with a record time under the hour, namely 59:27, was going to impose his level. However, the initial effort was too much for El Abassi who, from km 17 onwards, slowed down a little and reached the finish line in Vara del Rey 32 seconds ahead of the 2023 record that he had been chasing for 21 km.

A parity event

With an almost balanced participation between women (49.6%) and men (50.4%), this year’s edition underlined the inclusive and diverse nature of the race. More than 90% of the runners came from outside the Balearic Islands, with a strong presence of athletes from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Ireland, among others.

The day was not only a sporting festival, but also a great opportunity to show internationally all that Ibiza has to offer beyond its beaches and the precious sun. The event has established itself as a first-class tourism engine, which reinforces the island as a perfect destination for sports tourism throughout the year. This edition, which has exceeded all expectations, has had the fundamental support of institutions such as the Consell d’Eivissa, the municipalities of Eivissa and Sant Josep de Sa Talaia, security forces, civil protection and volunteers up to a device of 300 people.

Undoubtedly, the Ibiza Half Marathon 2025 has marked a before and after in the history of this event, and everything points to the 2026 edition will be even bigger and more spectacular. The day was closed on the stage set up in Vara del Rey where King Africa performed, in case anyone had been left wanting more “Bomba” for their legs after the socking of kilometers.