The 25-year-old clocked 1:05:15 on a sunny morning in the Danish capital, taking one second off the previous mark of 1:05:16 set by compatriot Peres Jepchirchir when she won the world half marathon title in Gdynia in 2020.
Ngetich led from the gun and never looked back. She was already 10 seconds clear by 5km and 26 seconds ahead at 10km, passing that mark in 30:39. By 20km she had stretched the gap to 51 seconds in 1:01:56 before holding her form to the finish.
She crossed the line 50 seconds ahead of teammate Veronica Loleo, who took silver in 1:06:05. Rwanda’s Florence Niyonkuru claimed bronze in a national record of 1:06:08, just ahead of another Kenyan, Daisilah Jerono, in 1:06:13.
The overall women’s half marathon world record remains 1:02:52, set by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey in a mixed-gender race in Valencia in 2021.
Sunday’s victory was Ngetich’s latest major title of an outstanding year. She also won the world cross-country championship in Florida in January and helped Kenya claim the team half marathon gold in Copenhagen, combining with Loleo and Jerono for a team time of 3:17:33. The United States took team silver and Ethiopia bronze.
Ngetich now holds three world records. She is the first woman to run 10km under 29 minutes (28:46 in a mixed race in Valencia in 2024) and also owns the women-only 10km record of 29:27.
After the race she said her coach had believed she could win the gold medal. “I am very happy and very grateful to now hold the world half marathon record too,” she added.
Ngetich has indicated she intends to return to the track in 2027 with her sights on a gold medal at the World Athletics Championships, describing it as the one major title still missing from her collection.
The performance confirmed her status as one of the most dominant distance runners in the world and added another landmark to Kenya’s rich tradition in road running.