Agnes Ng’etich has capped a remarkable 2026 season by winning the women’s half marathon title at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen and setting a new women-only world record.
The distance star stormed to victory on Sunday in 1:05:15, taking one second off the previous women-only world record of 1:05:16 set by compatriot Peres Jepchirchir at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia. The record is subject to the usual ratification procedure.
Ng’etich dominated the race from the start, opening a 10-second lead by the 5km mark before extending the advantage to 26 seconds at 10km. By 15km, she was 53 seconds clear of the chasing pack and eventually crossed the finish line 50 seconds ahead of fellow Kenyan Veronica Loleo.
Loleo claimed the silver medal in 1:06:05, while Rwanda’s Florence Niyonkuru completed the podium in 1:06:08, a national record. Kenya’s Daisilah Jerono finished fourth in 1:06:13, narrowly missing out on a medal.
The victory gave Ng’etich her second global title of the year, adding the half marathon crown to the senior women’s title she won at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in January. World Athletics described her Copenhagen performance as another dominant display in an outstanding season.
Ng’etich had already established herself as one of the leading distance runners of 2026 after winning the senior women’s cross-country title in Tallahassee. She later recorded a world-leading 28:58 over 10km in Lille before switching to the track and winning the 3,000m at the Monaco Diamond League in a world-leading 8:08.95.
Her Copenhagen triumph further underlined her versatility across cross country, road racing and track. She entered the championships as the world 10km record holder and Kenya’s national half marathon record holder with a personal best of 1:03:04.
The performance also strengthened Kenya’s showing at the championships, with Ng’etich and Loleo securing a one-two finish in the women’s half marathon.
Ng’etich had spoken before the race of her desire to win the global title in Copenhagen, saying: “That would be the dream, to win here.”
She delivered on that ambition in emphatic fashion, leading from gun to tape and adding another major title to a season that has already seen her conquer three different disciplines.
