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Agnes Ngetich Sets Women’s Half-Marathon World Record in Copenhagen

By Drooid · Sep 20, 2026, 10:49 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Agnes Ngetich set a women-only half-marathon world record of 1:05:15 in Copenhagen.
She surpassed Peres Jepchirchir’s 1:05:16 record by one second.
She led the race from the front, passing 5 km in 15:12 and 10 km in 30:39.
Veronica Loleo finished second in 1:06:05 and Florence Niyonkuru third in 1:06:08.
Her personal best 1:03:04 set in Valencia 2024 remains the second-fastest women's half marathon.

History

Historical Context

On 13 April 2003 Paula Radcliffe ran 2:15:25 at the London Marathon, a world-record ratified by the IAAF that beat her own 2:17:18 Chicago mark by nearly two minutes. Her breakthrough followed a decade of improvements, from Grete Waitz’s 1983 record to Kenyan runners such as Mary Keitany setting women-only records. The 2003 performance signaled a shift toward faster women’s distance times and greater investment in elite training.

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Story summary

Agnes Ngetich set a women-only half-marathon world record of 1:05:15 in Copenhagen.
She surpassed Peres Jepchirchir’s 1:05:16 record by one second.
She led the race from the front, passing 5 km in 15:12 and 10 km in 30:39.
Veronica Loleo finished second in 1:06:05 and Florence Niyonkuru third in 1:06:08.
Her personal best 1:03:04 set in Valencia 2024 remains the second-fastest women's half marathon.

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