Lornah Kiplagat, the 2005 SPAR European Cross Country Championships women's gold medalist, added to her list of accolades by winning the inaugural IAAF World Road Running Championship women's title and breaking the 20km world record on Sunday.
 
The Dutchwoman sped around the four-lap course in the Hungarian city of Debrecen and stopped the clock in 1 hour 3 minutes and 21 seconds after a phenomenal duel with Romania's Constantina Tomescu.
 
Kiplagat, shaved five seconds off the previous record of 1:03:26, which had been set by Britain's Paula Radcliffe in 2001, and Tomescu was also under the old mark in second place with 1:03:23.
  
The Kenyan-born runner, who became a Dutch citizen in 2003, pulled away from Tomescu two kilometres from home and could have probably taken several seconds more off the record but for raising her arms in understandable delight and easing off 30 metres from the line.
 
"We went at very high speed, Constantina tried to put out a very high pace and make it a hard race, I think she must have had it in her mind what happened last year (when Tomescu threw down the gauntlet from the gun and beat Kiplagat en-route to winning the World Half Marathon title). She did a tremendous job but I felt very strong today," said Kiplagat.
 
"I believed in my training and I believed in our planning so it didn't matter to me how the race was run. I said to myself, 'If Constantina wants to push the pace, I can go with her'. I was always very confident I could win but knew for sure I was going to with three kilometres to go.
 
"I used to have the world record over this distance but then Paula took it and I wanted it back. I knew before the race I could break it," added 32-year-old Kiplagat.
 
A fast time was always likely after a scorching opening 5km which saw a four-woman group go through the line in 15:34. The halfway point was reached in 31:11, with Kenya's Rita Jeptoo the only woman capable of staying with the Kiplagat and Tomescu.
 
Jeptoo was dropped at 12km, leaving the European pair to battle for the gold medal.
 
Kiplagat had started the race wearing sunglasses but tossed them to the side of the road at 14km.
 
"It's kind of something that I use mentally, when I feel down and want some new energy; it's something that I do. If I have gloves, I'll throw them away. If I have a cap, I'll throw it away, but I didn't have either of them today so I threw away my sunglasses. For me, it's just like moving up a gear, when I do that then something will happen.
 
"But Constantina didn't know that, of course, although now she does, so let's see what happens the next time we meet," grinned Kiplagat, who speaks six languages and can joke in all of them.
 
She will also be laughing all the way to the bank in Holland as she not only won $30,000 for wining the race but also a world record bonus of $50,000.
 
Partial reward for Tomescu, in addition to her silver medal and a cheque for $20,000, is the fact that she became the co-holder with Kiplagat of the European 15km best of 47:10, the pair having been given the same time at the official checkpoint.
 
Europe's men didn't fair quite so well with the leading runner being France's James Thueri in 19th place. The Kenyan-born former member of the French foreign legion clocked 59:11 in a race won by Eritrea's Zersenay Tadesse in 56:01.
 
The IAAF World Road Running Championships will stay in Europe in 2007 when the Italian city of Udine stages the event over the half marathon distance.