Andreas Almgren won the men's world half marathon title in Copenhagen on Sunday, outkicking Kenya's Nicholas Kipkorir to stop the clock in a European record of 58:06. The gold is Sweden's first at a global road running championship.
The 31-year-old made his decisive move on the final stretch past Parken, surging away from Kipkorir with the finish line in sight. Kipkorir had led through much of the closing kilometres, edging ahead as the pair passed the 21-K mark. Almgren covered every surge, then launched an all-out sprint that put five seconds between them by the line.
A 35-second record cut, Africa's streak ended
Almgren improved his own European record by 35 seconds, moving to ninth on the world all-time list. Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei took bronze in 58:26, with Ethiopia's Tadese Worku fourth in 58:35.
The result ended a remarkable run. Almgren became the first non-African man to win the world half marathon title since Italy's Stefano Baldini in 1996. The individual crown left Africa for the first time in three decades.
From track bronze to road gold
The race had been shaped early by a surge from American record holder Conner Mantz, before Kipkorir's repeated pushing whittled the lead group to four.
"I felt extremely strong in the last few kilometres. I did not only have one or two gears left, I had three or four," Almgren told reporters afterwards. The title follows his world 10,000m bronze in Tokyo last year and a European 10,000m title won a month ago.
