The elite athlete powered through the streets of the Danish capital in a breathtaking time of 58:01, beating the previous record by 17 seconds and his own personal best by 53 seconds.

He was 75 seconds clear of the second-placed athlete, Bernard Kipkorir Ngeno.

“It is very emotional for me to set this record. And doing it in Copenhagen, where I won my first world title [in 2014, ed.], adds something to it,” the three-time World Half Marathon Champion said after the race.

In the women’s race, Ethiopian Birhane Dibaba Adugna took a surprise victory with a time of 1:05:57, the second-fastest time ever run on the course.

Over 23,000 people took to the streets of Copenhagen to take on the 21.1-kilometre challenge and the city’s residents came out in force in the early autumn weather to spur them on.

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