World Athletics has ratified the world half marathon record set by Kenyan runner Geoffrey Kamworor.
In a sensational run, Kamworor chopped 22 seconds from the previous record at the Copenhagen Half Marathon on 15 September to clock 58:01, coming tantalisingly close to breaking the event’s 58-minute barrier.
It was an apt setting for the 26-year-old Kenyan who won the first of his three successive world half marathon titles in the streets of the Danish capital in 2014.
The previous record of 58:23 was set by Zersenay Tadese in Lisbon in 2010.
Covering the first five kilometres in 13:53, just outside world record pace, Kamworor upped the tempo to reach 10 kilometres in 27:34, four seconds inside his stated target. He was in front alone by the 11-kilometre mark, but didn’t slow. He reached 15 kilometres in 41:05, the fastest time ever recorded for that distance and a stunning 11 seconds inside sub-58 minute pace.
His pace dropped over the waning stages but he still reached 20 kilometres in 55:00, another world best. He was just a few metres from the finish line as the clock moved to 58 minutes before stopping at 58:01.
“It is very emotional for me to set this record,” said Kamworor, who also won back-to-back world cross country titles in 2015 and 2017. “And doing it in Copenhagen, where I won my first world title, adds something to it.”
World Athletics
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