Agnes Ngetich wrote another chapter of her stellar athletics career when she stormed to a world record at the closing day of the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, yesterday.
Ngetich smashed the women-only world half marathon record, setting it at 1:05:15 in a race where she oozed class from gun to tape, leading Veronica Loleo to a gold-silver finish for Kenya.
Her jaw-dropping performance came as Kenyan stars once again stunned the world with five individual medals; Ngetich’s victory was the only individual gold in the two-day championships. The country also topped the men’s and women’s half marathon.
The women-only feat adds to Ngetich’s 10km world record of 28:46, which she set in Valencia in 2024.
She improved the previous women-only half marathon world record held by Peres Jepchirchir when winning the world half marathon title in Gdynia in 2020 by one second, adding another major credential in her decorated CV.
Ngetich had set a 5km world record en route to the 2024 record in Valencia.
From the 5km mark, Ngetich took the lead and established a comfortable gap between herself and the chasing pack, and by 15km she was nearly a minute away from the rest of the field. And she sustained the momentum all the way to the tape.
Loleo crossed the finish line in 65:05 for a silver medal while Florence Niyonkuru of Rwanda claimed the bronze medal in a national record of 66:08.
Ngetich, who is the reigning world cross country champion after her victory in Tallahassee, USA in January, said adding another medal at the close of the season was motivating.
"Crossing the finish line with a world record by just one second was unbelievable. I have been doing speed tracks in Monaco a few months ago,” Ngetich said after victory.
She added: "I was so happy, because I got the feeling that let me do this, and there were only 6km left. I looked at my watch, and I was like, I am two seconds from the world record, and I thought no, I do not want to miss this, so I was just putting all my energy into it. And with 100m left, I was like, I can get the world record.
"Adding up another medal is amazing. I was coming here to see if I was able to get the gold medal. I have really prepared for this race, and this medal is a perfect closure to this season, because this race was the last championship. And a championship is just crazy.”
“It was tough to be alone for most of the race, because it was windy. You go to places where you face strong wind, and you have to push alone, because you are all by yourself,” she went on to say.
Loleo said claiming a medal in her debut championship was ecstatic. She eyes another historic performance at the Valencia Half Marathon next month.
"This first championship medal I will award to my family and coach. The race was very hard for me as there was some wind and the pace was up from the very start. I noticed Agnes Ngetich taking off, but I knew I had to stick to my own pace. She was going too fast from the very beginning. So I decided to go with the pack,” the silver medallist said.
Nicholas Kipkorir could not respond to a blistering sprint unleashed by Swedish Andreas Almgren at the finishing stretch in the men's race.
Kipkorir, who had bagged bronze in 5km at the 2023 edition of the World Road Running Championships in Lima, Peru, settled for silver as the tactical Swedish star took the gold medal.
Almgren timed 58:06 while Kipkorir and Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, a double Olympic Champion, clocked 58:11 and 58:26 respectively for their silver and bronze.
Kipkorir had stepped forward to do the Lord’s work just after the 9km mark but Almgren and Cheptegei stuck with him until the final 100m when the Swedish athlete made use of his reserved gas.
Mirriam Cherop, the 2018 World Under-20 1,500m silver medallist, opened Kenya’s medal account when she claimed bronze in the women’s One Mile road race on the opening day of the Road Running competition on Saturday.
Cherop ran 4:25.71, setting the pace for Kenya’s medal hunt in Copenhagen.
Caroline Gitonga made it two medals for Kenya on day one producing after delivering silver in the women’s 5km race.
In 2023 Lima World Road Running Championships, Kenyan athletes bagged 10 individual medals with marathon record holder Sebastian Sawe and Olympic gold medallist Peres Jepchirchir being crowned 21km champions.
