Nicholas Kipkorir at the World Road Running championships/ HANDOUTThe 2022 Diamond League 5,000m final champion Nicholas Kipkorir has quickly shifted his focus to the 10,000m podium at the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, buoyed by his silver-medal performance at last weekend's World Road Running Championships.
In Copenhagen, Denmark, the Kenyan distance star produced a commanding display in the men's half marathon. The 27-year-old stopped the clock at 58:11, finishing just five seconds behind Sweden's Andreas Almgren, who surged to gold in 58:06. Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei completed the podium with bronze in 58:26.
For Kipkorir, the silver medal marked a significant step forward from his appearance at the 2023 World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia.
In Latvia, he competed in the men's 5km road race and claimed bronze in 13:16, finishing behind Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet (12:59) and Yomif Kejelcha (13:02).
“I am grateful I was able to win silver in Copenhagen. It is an impressive improvement from my last appearance in 2023,” Kipkorir said.
Despite the podium finish, he admitted the race was fiercely contested from gun to tape. “The race was tough. I knew I was prepared and I had trained very well."
“But I also knew the rest of the field had prepared well. The winner just beat me towards the end of the race,” he added. While Kipkorir has built an impressive resume on the roads, he believes his track business is far from over.
“I decided to go to the roads because I saw they favour me and I was performing well,” he said.
His finest track season came in 2022, when he stormed to victory in the Diamond League final in Zurich in 13:00, before claiming Commonwealth Games 5,000m silver in Birmingham with 13:08.19, narrowly behind Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo (13:08.08).
Since then, however, global championship success on the track has proved elusive.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Kipkorir finished eighth in the 10,000m in 28:03.38, as Cheptegei claimed gold in 27:51.42 ahead of Daniel Ebenyo (27:52.60) and Ethiopia's Selemon Barega (27:52.72).
Last year, he missed out on a slot in Team Kenya's 5,000m squad after finishing fourth at the trials, clocking 13:40.76. For the 2027 campaign, Kipkorir is determined to mount a resurgence over the 25-lap distance in Beijing. “I still need to confirm that I am still good on the track. I need to try next year in the 10,000m at the World Championships,” he said. “I still have high hopes for the track, and I want to do my best.”
Kipkorir's road campaign in 2026 has been consistently impressive. He opened his season on February 8 with a runner-up finish at the Burj2Burj Half Marathon in the UAE, clocking 59:28, just two seconds behind Cheptegei (59:26)
A month later, he switched gears to the Lisbon Half Marathon, where he again finished second in 58:08 behind Jacob Kiplimo, who won in 57:20. His momentum briefly stalled at the Boston Marathon on April 20, where he placed 16th in 2:06:07, but he bounced back in style on July 4, taking second at the Northside Hospital Peachtree 10km in 27:41, four seconds behind compatriot Patrick Kiprop (27:37).
