2023 World Half Marathon champion Sabastian Sawe outkicked world record holder Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda and Norway’s Olympic 5,000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win the Copenhagen Half Marathon.
Sawe cruised to victory in 58:05, leading Kiplimo (58.09) and Isaia Lesoi (58:10) to the podium.
The race saw Kiplimo briefly reclaim the lead at the 15km mark, which he covered in 41:17, but it soon became a fierce three-man duel between him, Sawe, and Lesoi.
Kiplimo and Sawe stayed together through 20km in 55:13 but the Kenyan unleashed a decisive kick in the final stretch to secure the win.
Amos Kurgat (58:47), Edward Cheserek (59:32), Kennedy Kimetu (59:47) and Roncer Konga (1:00:33) placed fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth respectively.
Making his half marathon debut, Ingebrigtsen struggled to maintain the rapid pace. After a strong start, he hit 10km in a Norwegian national record time of 27:27 but ultimately faded to finish 34th in 1:03:13.
The Norwegian was fresh from winning the Diamond League 1500m title in Brussels on Friday.
But Ingebrigtsen couldn’t maintain that pace and he stopped dead at 10km, reached in 27:27 – a national record for the Norwegian on the roads.
Sawe’s triumph in Copenhagen adds to an already impressive list of victories, including wins at the Prague Half Marathon (58:24), the 2023 Bahrain Half Marathon (58:58) and the Generali Berlin Half Marathon (59:00).
He will now set his sights on defending his world title when Copenhagen hosts the World Athletics Road Running Championships in 2026.
Last year in Riga, Sawe set a course record time of 59:10 to clinch the title beating Daniel Ebenyo (59:14) and Samwel Mailu (59:19).
In the women’s race, World Half Marathon silver medallist Margaret Kipkemboi led a Kenyan podium sweep, winning in 1:05:11. Judy Kemboi (1:05:43) and Catherine Amanang'ole (1:06:09) took second and third, respectively.
Kipkemboi’s glittering career includes a silver in the 5,000m at the 2019 World Championships and a bronze in the 10,000m at the 2022 edition.
She is also the 2018 Commonwealth Games 5,000m silver medallist as well as the 2015 African 5,000m champion.
