COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, September 19–20 — The 12th edition of the World Road Championships (26th for the half-marathon) brought plenty of great racing to the streets of Copenhagen, as enthusiastic crowds lined the course.
Mile — Farken Shadows Nuguse
The mile offered little in the way of surprise, especially so for anyone who has been following ON teammates Robert Farken and Yared Nuguse. The American had made no secret of his race plan, to run from the front in an effort to take the gold and the World Record of 3:51.3 for the road mile.
The German, also coached by Dathan Ritzenhein, knew this as well as anyone, as he frequently trains with Nuguse and the two stayed together in Denmark.
Naturally, as Nuguse jumped to the front after the gun, the field formed a flying wedge behind him, with his German teammate running directly behind him much of the way. Farther back in the crowd ran his U.S. teammate, Vincent Ciattei.
However, Nuguse’s pace wasn’t swift by track standards. He hit about 59 seconds at the quarter and 1:57 at the half. Before the kilo he had to negotiate the two right turns on the course. In the lead, he had no traffic problems on the corners, though some in his slipstream found the turns a bit crowded.
Nuguse reached three-quarters in 2:57, with Italy’s Marco Arese joining his closest pursuers, Farken and Britain’s Jake Heyward. From there it was a straight shot to the finish, but Nuguse’s end-of-season legs didn’t have the spark they did at season’s peak.
With 200 left, Farken made his move, pulling even, then striding ahead to take the win in a German Record 3:51.80. Nuguse held on in 3:52.23, and bronze went to Ruben Querinjean of Luxembourg, the first global medal for that country since Josy Barthel won the Olympic 1500 in ’52. Ciattei finished 8th in 3:54.62, helping the U.S. win the mixed team title.
For the champion, the gold meant his first victory ever over Nuguse. “I kind of knew what was going to happen: I trained with Yared and we shared the same Airbnb for the last 4 days. His racing hasn’t really gone after plan, so he really has the fire burning in him today and he wanted to take it in hard. So I was very prepared for that today and I knew I needed a spot close to him and see if I could find some shelter from the wind a few places back.”
Said Nuguse, “I just ran my race. I left it all out there and that is really what I am happy about.”
5K — Seare Thwarts Ingebrigtsen’s Late Bid
The French tried to set up the 5K to favor Jimmy Gressier, the world 10,000 champ, known for his sizzling kick. His teammate Flavien Szot went to the front early to ensure a fast pace, and took the field through 2K in 5:20 before stepping aside to let the field pass. He then then jogged to a 47th.
The plan didn’t quite pan out, as a phalanx of tough Africans moved to the front, led by two little-known Eritreans, Dawit Seare and Saymon Amanuel. They drove the pace faster and Gressier faded from contention.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, anxious to keep racing now that his long medical sit-down is over, had to drive hard over the final kilometer to put himself in contention once it was apparent the Eritreans weren’t kidding around. With 400 left, he edged ahead of Seare to take the lead and he seemed relieved with the finishline in sight.
Seare, just 21 and already the African champion at 5000 (PR 13:07.77), didn’t let go when the Norwegian great passed. Instead he calmly ran behind him, and with about 60m remaining he blasted past so fast that he gestured that he was No. 1 as he raced to the line in 12:56.
The stunned Ingebrigtsen finished in 12:59 with Amanuel making it a 1-3 for Eritrea with his 13:00. Australia’s Ky Robinson barely edged Uganda’s Kenneth Kiprop as both clocked 13:04. Addisu Yihune (6th, 13:07) and Mezgebu Sime (7th, 13:08) helped win the mixed team title for Ethiopia. Back in 11th, Drew Hunter broke the American Record with his 13:14.
Said Seare, “I am very, very happy because I have been preparing very well for the last two months for this. I am African Champion in 5 kilometers, which was part of my preparation. This is the result of my effort. I know Jakob is a very strong athlete. Especially in the last kilometer it was difficult to compete with him, but at the end I won and I am very pleased about that. I will move to the U.S. now, and I will compete there. So keep an eye on me.”
“I had to fight with all I had,” said Ingebrigtsen of his birthday race, “and I think that I was a little bit too early going into the sprint.”
Half-Marathon — Almgren Gear-Shift Insurmountable
With the women starting on the same loop course 35 minutes earlier, the men’s half marathoners found their early kilometers paced by Conner Mantz in only his second race in an injury-plagued year.
Not far behind the American lurked Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, with whom he had been training recently. Also key in the mix was Uganda’s Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei and Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir.
By 5K (13:57), Kipkorir led, joined by his teammates Gideon Rono and Daniel Ebenyo. Another 5K later, Rono had dropped back but Alex Matata of Kenya had joined his compatriots at the front. All the while, Almgren stayed close.
The brutal pace took its toll. The 15K post went by in 41:47, Kipkorir having led a 4-man breakaway with Almgren, Cheptegei and Tadese Worku of Ethiopia. At 20K in 55:20, they had lost Worku.
Kipkorir drove hard for the finish, appearing to launch his sprint early as Almgren dogged him. They battled furiously over the final 800, leaving Cheptegei behind. Finally, with the line in sight, the Swede burst past and Kipkorir had no response.
The first non-African to win the gold in 30 years, Almgren set a European Record 58:06, with Kipkorir at 58:11 and Cheptegei in a PR 58:26. Ten men broke an hour, and Mantz finished 12th in 60:08, one spot ahead of teammate Ahmed Muhumed (60:15).
For Almgren, who covered his fourth 5K segment in 13:33, his fastest, before the kicking started, the win was huge. “This gold medal means so much to me. I felt extremely strong in the last few kilometers. I did not only have one or two gears left, I had three or four — I felt like my opponents could try whatever they wanted but I was not going to let this gold medal go.”
Kenya won the team title, with a 3-man combined time of 2:56:30. The United States took 3rd, with Wesley Kiptoo the third man at 61:11, and Hillary Bor close back-up at 61:12.
WORLD ROAD CHAMPS MEN’S RESULTS
Men’s Mile
1. Robert Farken (Ger) 3:51.80 PR; 2. Yared Nuguse (US) 3:52.33; 3. Ruben Querinjean (Lux) 3:52.77 PR; 4. Anass Essayi (Mor) 3:53.28 PR; 5. Flavien Szot (Fra) 3:53.44; 6. Oliver Hoare (Aus) 3:53.65 PR; 7. Pietro Arese (Ita) 3:54.37 PR; 8. Vincent Ciattei (US) 3:54.62; 9. Jude Thomas (Aus) 3:54.92 PR; 10. Tshepo Tshite (SA) 3:55.66 PR.
Men’s 5K
1. Dawit Seare (Eri) 12:56 NR; 2. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Nor) 12:59 NR; 3. Saymon Amanuel (Eri) 13:00 PR; 4. Ky Robinson (Aus) 13:04 NR; 5. Kenneth Kiprop (Uga) 13:04 PR; 6. Addisu Yihune (Eth) 13:07; 7. Mezgebu Sime (Eth) 13:08; 8. Mathew Kipsang (Ken) 13:11; 9. Egide Ntakarutimana (Bur) 13:12 PR; 10. Maxime Chaumeton (SA) 13:13;
… 11. Drew Hunter (US) 13:14 AR (old AR 13:17 Abdihamid Nur [Nike Swoosh] ’26);
… 17. Dylan Jacobs (US) 13:24 PR.
Men’s Half-Marathon
1. Andreas Almgren (Swe) 58:06 NR (13:58, 13:57 [27:55], 13:52 [41:47], 13:33 [55:20], 2:46); 2. Nicholas Kipkorir (Ken) 58:11; 3. Joshua Cheptegei (Uga) 58:26 PR; 4. Tadese Worku (Eth) 58:35 PR; 5. Gideon Rono (Ken) 58:57; 6. Hani Idriss Hersi (Dji) 59:09 NR; 7. Yemaneberhan Crippa (Ita) 59:18; 8. Alex Matata (Ken) 59:22; 9. Daniel Simiyu (Ken) 59:42; 10. Othmane El Goumri (Mor) 59:53 PR;… 12. Conner Mantz (US) 60:08; 13. Ahmed Muhumed (US) 60:15 PR;… 23. Wesley Kiptoo (US) 61:11; 24. Hillary Bor (US) 61:12.
Teams: 1. Kenya 2:56:30; 2. Ethiopia 2:59:47; 3. United States 3:01:34.
Mixed team results for miles & 5Ks published with women’s news story.
