World and European Records Fall at Copenhagen Half Marathon

Kenya's Agnes Jebet Ngetich shattered the women's half-marathon world record, while Sweden's Andreas Almgren set a new European mark in the men's race at the World Road Running Championships held this Sunday in Copenhagen.

Ngetich completed the distance in 1:05:15, shaving a single second off the previous world record, which had been held by her compatriot Peres Jepchirchir since the 2020 World Championships in Gdynia, Poland. The Kenyan athlete dominated the event, finishing almost a minute ahead of second-placed Veronica Loleo (1:06:05), also from Kenya. Florence Niyonkuru of Rwanda rounded out the podium with a time of 1:06:08.

In the men's competition, the surprise came from Nordic runner Andreas Almgren, who covered the distance in 58:06 minutes. With this performance, the Swede improved his own European record by 35 seconds, a record he had set in Valencia last October (58:41). Kenya's Nicholas Kipkorir secured second place with 58:11 minutes, closely followed by Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei (58:26), the current world record holder for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

Among the Portuguese contingent, Susana Santos was the highest-ranked athlete in the women's race, finishing 53rd with a time of 1:12:00. Salomé Rocha placed 65th (1:13:30), and Mónica Silva finished 67th (1:13:34).

In the men's event, Samuel Barata was the top Portuguese finisher, completing the race in 78th place with a time of 1:03:50, while Rui Pinto finished 85th, clocking 1:04:27.