Kenya's Kamworor smashes world half marathon record

Paris - Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor sliced 17 seconds off the world record at the Copenhagen Half Marathon on Sunday as he won in 58:01.

Kamworor improved on the 58:18 set in Valencia last year by his compatriot Abraham Kiptum.

The 26-year-old Kenyan clearly likes the Danish capital as it was the scene of the first of his three world half-marathon titles.

Kamworor broke away from the pack and raced alone for the final 11 kilometres, defying the heavy rain that fell briefly with 37 minutes on the clock.

He covered the next five kilometres segment in a swift 13:31, reaching 15 kilometres in 41:03, 11 seconds inside sub-58-minute pace.

Although he slowed slightly in the final quarter, he was still well inside world record pace but the clock agonisingly ticked over 58 minutes as he crossed the line.

Birhane Dibaba Adugna of Ethiopia won the women's race in 1:05:57, taking almost two minutes off her lifetime best.