The men’s race at the second World Athletics Road Running Championships at Copenhagen 26 on Sunday (20) was a closely-contested affair between four athletes. Andreas Almgren of Sweden, Nicholas Kipkorir of Kenya, Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, and Tadese Worku of Ethiopia battled for an individual title that ended with an area record and personal bests.
They were the final survivors of an early break made possible by a from-the-gun surge by American record holder Conner Mantz, then incessant pushing by Kipkorir. The quartet went through 15-K in 41:47, and over the next five kilometers Worku was dropped (he would finish fourth in a personal best 58:35). Kipkorir thought that a fast pace was his best strategy.
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“I decided to push because there was a strong team in the field,” Kipkorir told Race Results Weekly, referring to his competitors. “It was not easy, that is why I decided to push to make a smaller group to go to finishing.”
In the final six kilometers, Cheptegei struggled to stay in contact with Kipkorir and Almgren. The two-time Olympic gold medalist would gain a stride, then lose a stride, and managed to get to 20-K with both of his opponents. But in the final kilometer, when Kipkorir picked up the pace again, Cheptegei fell back. The three-time world 10,000m champion who won the world marathon title in 2020 would finish third in 58:26, a personal best.
“The race was really, really good and I’m so happy to be in the podium again,” Cheptegei told reporters. “After three years of not running in my national colors, it felt really good to fight for position. I’m grateful for third place today.”
The battle for gold came down to the final 100 meters. Kipkorir surged several times, but Almgren –the European 10,000m champion– covered every move. Finally, as the pair crossed the 21-K mark just before the finish, Almgren launched an all-out sprint and put a five-second gap on Kipkorir by the finish. Almgren, who will make his marathon debut in New York on November 1, ran a European record 58:06 and became the first European world half-marathon champion since Italy’s Stefano Baldini in 1996.
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“It means so much,” said Almgren, who appeared to be in a state of disbelief. “I’ve had quite a few problems in my career, a lot of fourth places in the Europeans and I got a bronze at the World last year (in the 10,000m), and I was like, now I need to start getting the gold medals. To get the gold medal first in Birmingham in the 10-K (at the European Championships) and be world champion in the half-marathon means so much.”
Kipkorir was upbeat and genuinely pleased with his silver medal.
“I’m feeling great for securing the silver medal in the world road championship 2026,” said Kipkorir. “I am proud to have the silver. That was my prayers: to be a bronze, silver or gold.”
Mantz, who spent most of 2026 recovering from two sacral stress fractures, finished 12th in 1:00:08 and helped Team USATF secure the bronze medal in a total time of 3:01:34 (Kenya got the gold in 2:56:30 and Ethiopia the silver in 2:59:47). He was happy to be back at the top level of the sport.
“Last night my coach (Ed Eyestone) called me and talked through the game plan,” Mantz said. “The game plan was just to be grateful out there. Be grateful to be in the race again. Felt grateful through 10-K (his split was 27:55), but by the time I was running three-minute kilometers it was less gratitude and more regret for thinking I could get a medal today. My workouts are going well, but that doesn’t mean I’m in peak fitness.”
Conner Mantz, the USA marathon record holder with a 2:04:43 personal best, will run the TCS New York City Marathon in November.
