Photo via BBC Sport

Ngetich breaks women-only half-marathon record

Agnes Ngetich claimed the gold medal at the World Road Running Championships held in Copenhagen by securing a victory in the women-only half marathon. She crossed the finish line in one hour, five minutes and 15 seconds, clipping a single second off the previous standard that had been established by compatriot Peres Jepchirchir during her 2020 championship triumph.

Ethiopia competitor Letesenbet Gidey continues to hold the absolute overall women-only half-marathon best with her performance of 1:02:52. During the competition, Swedish participant Andreas Almgren also succeeded in capturing the men's half-marathon event after improving his personal European benchmark by 35 seconds to finish in a time of 58:06.

Expressing gratitude for the backing of her trainer, Ngetich noted that she intends to deliberate on her upcoming schedule before shifting her focus toward track competition in anticipation of the 2027 World Athletics Championships. The 25-year-old athlete previously achieved a 10km world-record performance in April 2025 by recording 29:27, following an earlier sub-29-minute feat in Valencia during 2024 where she clocked 28:46 in a mixed-field competition.