Ngetich cuts world record by one second to take world road gold
Agnes Ngetich of Kenya ran 1 hour, 5 minutes and 15 seconds to win the women's half marathon and break the women-only world record in Copenhagen on 20 September 2026. She took one second off the old mark to claim gold at the World Road Running Championships. BBC Sport
The previous women-only record had stood since 2020, set by her compatriot Peres Jepchirchir when she won world half-marathon gold. Women-only means a race with no male pacemakers to shelter behind, so it is listed separately from times set in mixed races. Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey holds that overall women's record at 1:02:52. BBC Sport
Copenhagen hosted the World Athletics Road Running Championships, over 21.1 kilometres through the Danish capital. Ngetich's win was her second global title of the year. World Athletics
Sweden's Andreas Almgren won the men's half marathon in 58:06. He broke his own European record by 35 seconds. It gave the championships a second record on the same morning.
Ngetich, 25, already owns the road at shorter distances. In Valencia in 2024 she ran 28:46 in a mixed 10km race to become the first woman under 29 minutes. In April 2025 she set a women-only 10km world record of 29:27, the first woman under 30 minutes without male pacemakers.
Her rise over the half marathon has been just as fast. She debuted over the distance in Valencia in 2024 with 1:03:04, then returned a year later to win there in 1:03:08. Those times came in mixed races, where she could run with men for pacing.
What makes this stand out is the margin. One second, after more than an hour of running. You can hear that kind of effort in the breathing long before you see it on the clock.
