COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, September 19–20 — When Agnes Ngetich pulled away from the half-marathon field at 3K, the first question was, “Can she sustain it?”
As her lead steadily grew, the query changed to, “Just how fast can she go?”
The answers were (a) yes, and (b) a new women’s-only WR of 65:15.
The 25-year-old Kenyan’s victory at the World Road Running Championships was her second global title of the year — she won the World Cross Country crown at Tallahassee in January.
It’s also her third WR on the roads — in the 10K, she also has the bests for mixed-race (28:46) and women’s-only (29:27).
Ngetich set the tone from the gun, laying down a brisk 3:00 in the first kilometer. She barely eased up, hitting that third kilo in 9:05 and opening a gap that steadily grew. The chase pack seemed content to let her go and hope she blew up.
She didn’t. She hit 5K in 15:12 (a time that would have placed 12th in the actual 5K race) with a lead of 10 seconds; 10K in 30:39 (26 seconds); 15K in 46:17 (53 seconds). As she came down the long finishing straight, Peres Jepchirchir’s women-only standard of 65:16 was clearly within reach, and Ngetich got it by the slimmest of margins.
It was still well short of the outright record, 62:52 by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey in ’21, and Ngetich’s own PR of 63:04, second all-time.
Behind the record, there was a spirited battle for the other medals. Rwanda’s Florence Niyonkuru headed a chase pack of 10, which included Americans Weini Kelati, Emma Grace Hurley and Jessica McClain. (The U.S. had an unusually large team, 6 instead of the standard 4, which World Athletics allowed after a course mix-up at the American trials.)
By 10K, the Ugandans had fallen off the pace. By 15K, McLain and Ethiopian Tsigie Gebreselama faltered, leaving Niyonkuru, Hurley, Kelati, Kenyans Daisalah Jerono and Veronica Loleo, and Ethiopian Ftaw Zeray to battle it out.
Niyonkuru continued her brave push, taking the two Kenyans with her. The final stretch saw Loleo (66:05) put in a kick that Niyonkuru could not answer. She had to console herself with a 66:08 Rwandan NR.
Jerono missed a medal in 66:13, followed by three Americans: Hurley 66:23 (No. 3 all-time U.S. performer, No. 4 performance), Kelati 66:35 (No. 6 all-time U.S. performance) and McClain 66:53 (No. 6 all-time U.S. performer, No. 9 performance).
That gave the U.S. 2nd in the team race. Their combined time of 3:19:51 was second to Kenya’s 3:17:33.
“After one kilometer, I was like, let me try to push the pace, because I saw an opportunity to get the World Record,” said Ngetich. “When I reached 15 kilometers, I was so happy, because I got the feeling of ‘Let me do this,’ and there were only 6 kilometers left. Crossing the finish line with a World Record by just one second was unbelievable.
“I am now going to discuss with my coach what is ahead of me. But I know I am coming back to track races in 2027, because there is a World Championships. It is my dream to win a gold medal on the track. It is the only one I am missing.”
In the 5K, Likina Amebaw’s breakout season continued breaking. Less than a week after winning the 5000 at World Ultimate, the 28-year-old Ethiopian padded her résumé further.
She didn’t face quite the same level of competition as in Budapest, and it showed: she romped to a 7-second victory, clocking a pavement PR of 14:41.
The two titles were a perfect endcap to a season that also saw her set track PRs at 1500, 3000 and 5000 and road bests at 10K and half-marathon. She claimed a 14:18.41 DL win in Rome and silver in the DL final.
Amebaw oozed confidence from start to finish. Great Britain’s Megan Keith briefly took the lead at the gun, but that lasted for all of a minute and a half.
Amebaw led a pack through 1K in a modest 3:00. (Note: Organizers provided no split times in the 5K, so all are approximations from our view of the video.)
During the second kilo, Amebaw broke that pack up with assertive frontrunning matched only by Kenya’s Caroline Gitonga, fellow Ethiopian Aleshign Baweke and Australian Rose Davies.
Amebaw hit 2K in 5:54 and Davies slid back. Gitonga made a bid at 3K, leading at 8:55, but a minute later, Amebaw reasserted herself and it looked like the large Danish crowd might see a wild finish.
That dream ended quickly. Amebaw surged, passed 4K in 11:48 and built a lead that clearly displayed her superiority. Gitonga faded further and further from the camera’s view. Amebaw began celebrating 300 meters from the finish, while Gitonga came under threat from Davies, Baweke and South African Tayla Kavanagh. The final shakeout was Gitonga 2nd at 14:48, followed by Davies in an Oceania Record 14:50. Kavanagh (14:51 PR) caught Baweke (14:53).
“I’m coming straight from Budapest, but the shift from track to road was not really difficult as I have been training both at the same time,” Amebaw said. “The track was a bit difficult for me so running the 5K today was better and I felt good — I had prepared for road racing.
“I knew I had to push from the very start and it worked as planned. There was a little bit of wind, but it was OK and I managed to find some good spots on the course.”
In the mile, Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu was an obvious favorite — a two-time World Indoor champ (1500 and 3000) and winner of eight DL races over the past 5 years, including the 5000 in this year’s final.
France’s Agathe Guillemot didn’t get the memo. The French recordholder at 1500 (3:56.24 in June) and European indoor champ pulled a sterling kick from her pocket for a 4:22.74 WL, leaving Hailu back in 4:24.35. Kenya’s Mirriam Cherop took 3rd in 4:25.71.
Hailu aggressively took the lead immediately, with American Addy Wiley her closest pursuer.
It was hard to judge the pace because there were no quarter-mile split signs. Instead, there were markers showing the distance remaining. It likely wasn’t too fast, because the pack was still tightly bunched with 1000 meters left. Hailu then broke it up with 800 to go.
It seemed like a decisive move for the win, but Guillemot hung on. With roughly 200 to go, the Frenchwoman put down a kick that left Hailu gassed. She broke into a big grin well before the line, which turned into a triumphal scream on her knees after she crossed. That was followed by some playful posing for the photographers.
“I felt great during the race,” Guillemot said. “In the first part I didn’t want to make any extra effort, so I just followed the others. After the turn, I kept pushing and pushing, and I believed in it.”
Americans weren’t much of a factor in either of the shorter races. In the mile, Wiley (4:31.02) placed 10th, one ahead of Gracie Hyde (4:31.92). In the 5K, Allie Ostrander (15:10) took 12th and Courtney Frerichs (15:25) was 17th. Nonetheless, Wiley and Hyde’s times, combined with those of Yared Nuguse and Vincent Ciattei, gave the U.S. the mixed-gender team title in the mile (16:49.89).
WORLD ROAD CHAMPS WOMEN’S RESULTS
Women’s Mile
1. Agathe Guillemot (Fra) 4:22.74 PR; 2. Freweyni Hailu (Eth) 4:24.35; 3. Mirriam Cherop (Ken) 4:25.71; 4. Annemarie Nissen (Den) 4:26.78 PR; 5. Naomi Korir (Ken) 4:29.15 PR; 6. Adelle Tracey (Jam) 4:29.30; 7. Linden Hall (Aus) 4:29.36; 8. Lucia Stafford (Can) 4:29.51 PR; 9. Gabriela DeBues-Stafford (Can) 4:30.59 PR; 10. Addy Wiley (US) 4:31.02; 11. Gracie Hyde (US) 4:31.92.
Mixed Teams: 1. United States (Addy Wiley, Gracie Hyde, Yared Nuguse, Vincent Ciattei) 16:49.89; 2. Australia (Linden Hall, Sarah Billings, Oliver Hoare, Jude Thomas) 16:50.61; 3. Kenya (Mirriam Cherop, Naomi Korir, Brian Komen, Kyumbe Munguti) 16:51.36.
Women’s 5K
1. Likina Amebaw (Eth) 14:41; 2. Caroline Gitonga (Ken) 14:48; 3. Rose Davies (Aus) 14:50 NR; 4. Tayla Kavanagh (SA) 14:51 NR; 5. Aleshign Baweke (Eth) 14:53;
6. Marta García (Spa) 14:59 NR; 7. Georgia Griffith (Aus) 15:01 PR; 8. Samia Hassan Nour (Dji) 15:04; 9. Hannah Gapes (NZ) 15:06 PR; 10. Hannah Nuttall (GB) 15:08 PR;… 12. Allie Ostrander (US) 15:10 PR;… 17. Courtney Frerichs (US) 15:25.
Mixed Teams: 1. Ethiopia (Likina Amebaw, Aleshign Baweke, Addisu Yihune, Mezgebu Sime) 55:49; 2. Australia (Rose Davies, Georgia Griffith, Ky Robinson, Toby Gillen) 56:30; 3. Kenya (Caroline Gitonga, Caroline Nyaga, Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang, Charles Kiboino) 56:31.
Women’s Half-Marathon
1. Agnes Ngetich (Ken) 65:15 women-only WR (old record 65:16 Peres Jepchirchir [Ken] ’20) (15:12, 15:27 [30:39], 15:38 [46:17], 15:39 [1:01:56], 3:19);
2. Veronica Loleo (Ken) 66:05; 3. Florence Niyonkuru (Rwa) 66:08 NR; 4. Daisilah Jerono (Ken) 66:13;
5. Emma Grace Hurley (US) 66:23 PR (3, 4 A);
6. Weini Kelati (US) 66:35 (x, 6 A);
7. Jessica McClain (US) 66:53 PR (6, 9 A);
8. Ftaw Zeray (Eth) 67:07; 9. Fatima Ezzahra Birdaha (Mor) 67:33 NR; 10. Esther Chebet (Uga) 67:38;… 17. Ednah Kurgat (US) 68:11 PR;… 20. Carrie Ellwood (US) 69:12;… 41. Annie Rodenfels (US) 71:02.
Teams: 1. Kenya 3:17:33; 2. United States 3:19:51; 3. Ethiopia 3:22:40.
