Sweden's Andreas Almgren shattered his European half marathon record with 58:06 to win gold at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark on Sunday (20) morning.
Five weeks after front running to European 10,000m gold in Birmingham in 27:23.44, Almgren employed a different approach today. He looked cool and composed as he drafted behind Kenya’s long-time leader Nicholas Kipkorir before launching his change of pace in the last 300 metres for victory in 58:06.
"I felt extremely strong at the last few kilometres. 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," said Almgren.
Almgren shaved more than half-a-minute off his previous European record of 58:41 set in Valencia last October when he became the first European in history to break the 59 minute-barrier for the distance and he moves to ninth on the world all-time half marathon list.
Almgren won by five seconds from Kipkorir in 58:11 with Uganda’s two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei completing the podium with bronze in 58:26.
Next stop: New York Marathon
Almgren’s next target is the New York Marathon on 1 November and he will continue his preparation for his marathon debut at high altitude in Arizona.
"Tomorrow I will go to Arizona, US and start doing altitude training before the marathon. I will do that for a couple of weeks, and then go to New York and get some rest right before the marathon. This gold medal is a very good sign for me, that I am doing something right.
"But at the same time, running a marathon is something completely different. I do not know how my body will react after 35 kilometres, but I am very excited to try it. In New York I am going to try to be somewhere in the front, hopefully I can make it all the way to Central Park and fight for the win," said Almgren.
Italy's Yemaneberhan Crippa, who is also targeting the New York Marathon, finished sixth in 59:18 while Jacob Sommer Simonsen was the third European finisher, setting a Danish record of 60:46 on home soil to finish 16th.
"It was an incredible race. I felt a little bit of a pressure, as I was on home ground, and I had said, that I wanted to set a national record and end up in the top 15. I managed to set the record, but didn't quite make it to the top 15. But I'm still super happy about the race," said Simonsen.
Almgren's splits
5km - 13:58
10km - 27:55 (13:57)
15km - 41:47 (13:52)
20km - 55:20 (13:33)
Finish - 58:06 (2:46)
Updated world all-time list
56:42 - Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) Barcelona 2025
56:51 - Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) Buenos Aires 2026
57:32 - Kibiwott Kandie (KEN) Valencia 2020
57:41 - Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH) Valencia 2023
57:50 - Selemon Barega (ETH) Valencia 2023
57:59 - Alexander Munyao (KEN) Valencia 2020
58:01 - Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) Copenhagen 2019
58:05 - Sabastian Sawe (KEN) Copenhagen 2024
58:06 - Andreas Almgren (SWE) Copenhagen 2026
58:07 - Abel Kipchumba (KEN) Valencia 2021
Fastest European times in history
58:06 - Andreas Almgren (SWE) Copenhagen 2026
58:41 - Andreas Almgren (SWE) Valencia 2025
59:01 - Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) Napoli 2026
59:13 - Julien Wanders (SUI) Ras Al Khaimah 2019
59:18 - Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) Copenhagen 2026
59:22 - Amanal Petros (GER) Berlin 2026
59:23 - Andreas Almgren (SWE) Barcelona 2024
59:23 - Dominic Lobalu (SUI) Berlin 2026
59:26 - Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) Napoli 2022
59:26 - Dominic Lobalu (SUI) Barcelona 2026