Alisa Vainio smashes Finnish half marathon record

Alisa Vainio shattered the Finnish national record in the women's half marathon on Saturday, clocking in at an impressive 1.09.28 at the Helsinki Half Marathon. This performance surpasses her previous record of 1.09.30, set in Copenhagen in 2024, by two seconds.

Vainio has been in strong form this season. She began with a Finnish record in the marathon in Seville in February, finishing in 2.20.39. Just a month ago, she secured sixth place in the Paris Marathon with a time of 2.21.35. In May, she dominated the Helsinki City Run, winning the women's half marathon by a significant margin in 1.09.39.

With these outstanding results, Vainio is now setting her sights on the European Athletics Championships scheduled for August. She is among the ten Finnish athletes selected by the Finnish Athletics Federation, having already achieved the direct qualifying standard for the event.