Ed Cheresek delivered a big surprise when he Sunday won the Copenhagen Half Marathon in 59:11 minutes. For a long time, the experienced Bernard Kiprop Koech looked to be on his way to a comfortable win, but his compatriot could finish very strongly on the last stretch, taking the win with a margin of only two seconds.

“It feels great to win here in Copenhagen. I knew I was in a good shape, but still I am a bit surprised to win today,” Cheserek – a former NCAA champion at 5000 and 10000 meters - said after having improved his personal best with more than a minute. He also revealed that his next race will be the New York Marathon.

Ethiopia’s Gemechu Dida spoiled a triple Kenyan win coming in third at 59:31 – four seconds faster than Patrick Mosin. The first six men dipped under the one-hour mark.

Former World Champion wins in her comeback race
The weather conditions in Copenhagen were good, but as the sun broke through the cloudy sky during the race, the temperature rose to 22 Celsius. In the women’s race, the leading group started out very fast splitting the first 5K in 15:13. At 10K, Irene Cheptai found herself alone in the front, and with 30:48 at 10K still within a new course record. However, the pace slowed after 15K and it soon became clear that the record (65:08) from 2021 would survive. Cheptai’s winning time 65:53 – in her first race of the year – is a new personal best.

“I have been injured for a long time, so it is very nice to come back and win here in Copenhagen even thought I didn’t break the course record. It simply was too hot at the last stage“, Cheptai – the 2017 World Cross Country Champion – said.

Winfridah Moseti of Kenya came in second with a personal best of 66:40, while Jesca Chalangat secured Kenya a triple victory running 67:03 in her half marathon debut. Norway’s Karoline Grøvdal Bjerkeli finished sixth in a new Nordic Record of 67:34. Her compatriot, Henrik Ingebrigtsen, dropped out in his debut half marathon.

The 9^th edition of Copenhagen Half Marathon – one out of the five SuperHalfs – attracted 27.000 runners.