Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich smashes half marathon world record

By  Bernard Rotich

Reporter

NMG Sport

What you need to know:

• Ngetich’s time of 1:05:15 makes her the first woman in history to run under 1:05:30 in a women-only half marathon.
• Nicholas Kipkorir won a silver medal for Kenya in the men’s half marathon behind Sweden’s Andreas Almgren.

Agnes Jebet Ngetich ran into the history books on Sunday, breaking the women-only world half marathon record at the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Ngetich, who also holds the world 10km record, made a decisive move after 3km, breaking away from a strong field that included her compatriot Veronica Loleo, and led to the finish. 

She stopped the clock at one hour, five minutes and 15 seconds to win gold, obliterating the previous women-only world record of 1:05:16 that was held by her compatriot Peres Jepchirchir.

 Loleo took silver in 1:06:05 while Rwanda’s Florence Niyonkuru claimed a surprise bronze in a national record time of 1:06:08.

Another Kenyan, débutante Daisilah Jerono, narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in 1:06:13 after staying with the chase pack until the final 2km.

Sunday’s win was the latest major title this year for the 25-year-old Ngetich, who also won the team half marathon in Copenhagen and the World Cross Country Championships in January.

Afterwards, Ngetich spoke of the challenge that comes with competing in championship races. 

In the absence of a pacemaker, the 25-year-old said she had to time her race to perfection, and kick at the right time to break the world half marathon record.

“Running alone for so long is hard, you have no one to push you, only yourself and the clock. But I love racing from the front. Around the halfway mark I felt the rhythm was really good, and that is when I began to believe the record was possible. After that I just kept pushing and refused to let it go,” she told Nation Sport.

As a rule, championship races do not have pace setters.

“Running without pacemakers makes the race very tricky. One has to plan the race well, especially if you are eyeing the world record. Again, there is no one to gauge yourself with when you are alone in front. My 10km record was fast, and came in a mixed race. But today I had to build momentum alone, from the front, and I went all the way to win. That is why it means so much to me. It proves I can lead a race, not just follow a fast pace,” said Ngetich, who trains in Iten.

“I felt strong, and when the moment came, I trusted it. My coach and I prepared for this, and I know my body very well. When it feels right, I do not wait, I commit myself,” she added.

Ngetich’s time of 1:05:15 makes her the first woman in history to run under 1:05:30 in a women-only half marathon, further cementing her status as the queen of road running after breaking the 10km world record in 28:46 last year. 

Her victory capped a dominant weekend for Team Kenya, who finished the championships with seven medals, including two medals from Day One when Caroline Gitonga won 5km silver and Miriam Cherop took Road Mile bronze.

Kenya bagged a total of seven medals (3 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze) topping the medal table ahead of Ethiopia (4 medals) and Eritrea (2 medals) who finished second and third respectively.

Meanwhile, the men’s half marathon produced one of the fastest podium finishes ever, with Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir winning silver in 58:1, just five seconds behind Sweden’s Andreas Almgren who won gold in a new European record of 58:06. 

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, who is a double Olympic champion, took bronze in 58:26.

Kenya’s pack running was evident, with Gideon Rono coming fifth in 58:57, Alex Nzioka eighth in 59:22 and Daniel Ebenyo Simiu ninth in 59:42.

Their top three - Kipkorir, Rono and Nzioka - combined for 2:56:30 to clinch the men’s team gold, with Ethiopia bagging team silver in 2:59:47, while the United States of America were third in 3:01:34.

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