Battocletti seals hat-trick of wins in historic road race while Kejelcha runs course record.

Nadia Battocletti of Italy and Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia won the 51st BOclassic in South Tyrol, Italy, on Wednesday (December 31).

Kejelcha smashed the men's 10km course record in 27:42 minutes, while Battocletti extended her winning streak in Bolzano to three victories in a row in the women's 5km. Over 10,000 spectators made the international Bolzano New Year's Eve run a celebration of running.

Kejelcha arrived in Bolzano as the favourite and lived up to expectations. The 28-year-old from Ethiopia, who is not only a two-time world championship silver medalist in the 10,000m but also holds the world record in the half marathon with 57:30, ran the first five laps in a group that also included crowd favourite Yeman Crippa of Italy, last year's winner and course record holder Telahun Haile Bekele of Ethiopia, Maxime Chaumeton of South Africa and Charles Rotich of Kenya, as well as Belgian John Heymans.

Kejelcha picked up the pace on the sixth lap. By the time he passed the start and finish area for the seventh time, Bekele had caught up. But on the final lap, Kejelcha pulled away again.

The African beat the record set by his Ethiopian compatriot Bekele by a full 17 seconds. Last year's winner finished second in 27:47, also faster than his winning time in 2025. Crippa from Trentino came third with a personal best in Bolzano of 27:57, also beating the old record. Chaumeton finished in fourth, while Heymans finished fifth.

Italian double victory in the women's event

In the women's elite race all eyes were on Battocletti. No wonder, as the Italian athlete was aiming for her third consecutive victory in her “home race".

The 25-year-old, who won silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5000m at the World Championships in Tokyo in September, took it relatively easy on the first two laps, running in a large group, but the athlete from the prison police sports group showed her qualities in the second half of the race. In the end, Battocletti clocked 15:51 for her third BOclassic triumph.

The battle for the remaining two positions on the podium was more exciting, with a group of four contenders still in contention after the penultimate lap. Federica Del Buono was the second “Azzurra” to finish on the podium – a rarity in 50 years of the BOclassic – in 16:04.

The podium was completed by Ksanet Alem, a 21-year-old talent from Ethiopia.

Cari Hughes of Wales finished fourth in 16:06, while Valentina Gemetto improved by two positions compared to last year, finishing fifth.