Agnes Ngetich breaks a half marathon world record in Copenhagen
Africa dominated the World Road Running Championships, with Kenyan, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Ugandan medals across the weekend.
By SitesNG Sports Desk · · 2 min read
Kenya's Agnes Ngetich is the world half marathon champion and a world record holder. At the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen on Sunday 20 September 2026 she won in 1:05:15, one second faster than Peres Jepchirchir's women-only world record from 2020.
“Crossing the finish line with a world record by just one second was unbelievable.”
Agnes Ngetich
Kenya's Veronica Loleo took silver in 1:06:05 and Rwanda's Florence Niyonkuru bronze in a national record of 1:06:08. Kenya won the team title. Ngetich says she will return to the track in 2027, with a world title as her goal.
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Seare beats Ingebrigtsen
The day before, Eritrea's Dawit Seare produced one of the shocks of the year, outkicking Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the 5km in a national record of 12:56. His team-mate Saymon Amanuel took bronze. Ethiopia's Likina Amebaw won the women's 5km in 14:41, ahead of Kenya's Caroline Gitonga.
“When he passed me with 150 metres to go, I thought for a second that it was over.”
Dawit Seare
Cheptegei's first road medal
In the men's half marathon Sweden's Andreas Almgren won in a European record of 58:06, but Kenya's Nicholas Kipkorir (58:11) and Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei (58:26, a personal best) completed the podium, and Kenya won the team gold.
| Event | Gold | African medallists |
|---|---|---|
| Women's half marathon | Agnes Ngetich (KEN) 1:05:15 | Loleo (KEN) silver, Niyonkuru (RWA) bronze |
| Men's half marathon | Andreas Almgren (SWE) 58:06 | Kipkorir (KEN) silver, Cheptegei (UGA) bronze |
| Men's 5km | Dawit Seare (ERI) 12:56 | Amanuel (ERI) bronze |
| Women's 5km | Likina Amebaw (ETH) 14:41 | Gitonga (KEN) silver |
| Women's road mile | Agathe Guillemot (FRA) | Hailu (ETH) silver, Cherop (KEN) bronze |
How the record was run
Ngetich went through 5km in 15:12, 10km in 30:39, 15km in 46:17 and 20km in 1:01:56, and held on for a one-second record. Kenya won the women's team title in 3:17:33 and the men's in 2:56:30, and Ethiopia won the mixed 5km relay in 55:49 ahead of Australia and Kenya.
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Seare, fourth in Riga in 2023 as a teenager, had already won the African 5000m title earlier in 2026. Cheptegei ran his personal best despite a foot problem: "I struggled a bit with my left foot," he said.
Africa will host the World Athletics Championships for the first time in 2029, in Nairobi. More African results are in this week's African Sports News.
Reporting by the SitesNG Sports Desk, based on reports from World Athletics, NBC Sports, ABC News, WatchAthletics. Published 20 September 2026 in the African Sports News weekly edition of 30 September 2026.
