How Lead Car Mistake Cost Kenya’s Kipruto Sh450,000 Top Prize at Prague’s Birell 10K Night Race

Prague, Czech Republic

This year’s Birell 10-kilometre Night Race delivered incredible drama, where Rodrigue Kwizera claimed a dramatic victory in the men's field, clocking 27 minutes and 15 seconds to break the Spanish national record by 10 seconds following a costly late-race detour by leader, Kenya’s Victor Kipruto Kiprono.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Ethiopian talent Chaltu Dida Diriba dominated the women's race, taking top honors in a commanding 30:04 ahead of her sister Robe.

Saturday evening offered practically ideal conditions for the runners: 20 degrees and clear skies with no significant wind gusts with almost 9,500 runners from 98 different countries around the world lined up at the start of night race, including 42 elite male and female runners.

From the beginning, the biggest favorite of the race was undoubtedly Rodrigue Kwizera, a Burundi native who competed in Prague for the first time ever under Spanish citizenship.

Rodrigue Kwizera claimed a dramatic victory in the men's field, clocking 27 minutes and 15 seconds to break the Spanish national record by 10 seconds. (Photo / RunCzech)

From the start, he stayed in the lead group of roughly 15 runners who broke away from the rest of the field. The pack of runners began to break apart from the seventh kilometre, with Victor Kipruto Kiprono taking the lead alongside, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Elisha Kiprop Chemiron.

The 26-year-old Kiprono began to pull away more and more significantly from his pursuers from the eighth kilometre, and it seemed he was running toward a dominant victory.

However… sport can be not only beautiful, but sometimes also extremely cruel. Before the final stretch, Kipruto followed the lead car instead of heading into the finish line, and before he could get back on course, he was passed not only by Kwizera — who improved the Spanish national record by 10 seconds with a winning time of 27:15 — but also by Owen Korir Kapkama.

The prize breakdown for the race was: Winner: €3,000 (Sh450,000); Course Record: €2,000 (Sh300,000); Time Bonus: €5,000 (Sh750,000); World Record: €20,000 (Sh3 million).

Later, organisers apologized to Kipruto (see separate story) and said they would award him the equivalent of the winner's purse.

Kwizera did not hide his joy after the race: “I am very happy that I could race here, and even happier that I won. I am satisfied with the final time, as well as with breaking the Spanish national record.

“I also felt the atmosphere and the cheering from the spectators, it helped me a lot, especially from the ninth kilometre onward, and I am really glad that I recorded another victory in the Czech Republic,” said the 26-year-old runner, also recalling his two victories at the Prague Half Marathon.

Burundi-born Spaniard Rodrigue Kwizera crosses the line to win Saturday's Birell 10-kilometre Night Race in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo / RunCzech)

But he wasn't the only runner to break the national record. Shunya Kikuchi improved the Japanese record by eight seconds with a time of 28:07.

Among the women, the biggest favorite was Clare Chemtai Ndiwa, who, along with her compatriot Purity Kajuju Gitonga and the Dida Diriba sisters, broke away from the rest of the women's field from the start.

It was Chaltu Dida Diriba who began taking the initiative at the front of the pack around halfway through the race and never let go of first place. She crossed the finish line in a time of 30:04, 8 seconds ahead of her sister Robe.

The Ethiopian dominance was interrupted in third place by Kenyan Cynthia Chelangat Chepkwony with a final time of 30:23.

Winner Chaltu Dida Diriba was satisfied after the finish: "The race was good, first place is great, so… everything is great,” declared the 19-year-old distance runner with a smile.

"I am very satisfied with my time, it's not far from my personal best. I felt the atmosphere along the course and it pushed me forward. Prague is a beautiful city and I will have only the fondest memories of it," she concluded.

Carina Reicht will also have positive memories of the Prague race, as she improved not only her own but also the Austrian national record by 23 seconds to a time of 31:56.

Official results of the Birell 10K Night Race Prague 2026:

Men – Elite: