Agnes Ngetich sets women-only half marathon record — Nation Kenya
Kenyan runner Agnes Jebet Ngetich won the women’s half marathon at the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, and set a world record in a women-only race. She covered the distance in 1 hour 5 minutes 15 seconds, Nation Kenya reports.
A record by one second
Ngetich took the lead after the third kilometre, breaking away from the group of rivals, including fellow Kenyan Veronica Loleo. The previous women-only half marathon world record was 1:05:16 and was held by another Kenyan runner, Peres Jepchirchir.
The time of 1:05:15 made 25-year-old Ngetich the first athlete in history to run a women’s half marathon faster than 1:05:30. She also holds the world record over 10 km — 28:46 — set last year.
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Loleo won the silver medal with a time of 1:06:05. Rwanda’s Florence Niyonkuru took bronze, finishing in 1:06:08 and setting a national record. Kenya’s Daisilah Jerono finished fourth in 1:06:13.
Kenya’s medal success
Ngetich noted that championship races have no pacemakers, so she had to manage the race herself. According to her, around the halfway point she felt that the record was possible.
Overall, the Kenyan team finished the championships with seven medals: three gold, three silver and one bronze, topping the medal table. In the men’s half marathon, Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir won silver, losing to Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, while the Kenyan team claimed team gold.
