Agnes Jebet Ngetich

Agnes Jebet Ngetich (born 23 January 2001) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She won two medals at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships with bronze in the senior women's race and team gold. In January 2024, with a time of 28:46, she set the 10 km run world record in Valencia, breaking the previous record by 28 seconds. En route to this time, Ngetich also broke the 5 km run world record, splitting 14:13 at 5 km which was 6 seconds faster than the previous world record. Ngetich also holds the second fastest half marathon mark in history, at 1 hour 3 minutes and 4 seconds.

Career

At the age of 16, Ngetich placed 8th in the 2017 Under-20 Kenya National Cross Country. That same year, she finished 6th in the World Youth Trials, clocking 9:13.0 over 3000 meters.

In February 2018, Ngetich rose to 4th place in the Under-20 Kenya National Cross Country division. Shortly after, she secured another 4th position at the Under-20 Africa Cross Country Championship in Algeria, contributing to Kenya's Team Gold win. In March 2019, aged 18, Ngetich won the 5000 metres at the Kenya African Under-20 Trials.

In September 2022, Ngetich finished runner-up to Sheila Chepkirui at the Brasov Running Festival 10 km road race in Brașov, Romania.

2023

On 18 February 2023, aged 22, Ngetich won the bronze medal in the individual race and gold in the team standings at the World Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst, Australia.

In September 2023, Ngetich broke the women-only world 10km record in the Transylvania 10km in Brasov, Romania, with a time of 29:24. This surpassed the previous mark of 30:01 set by Agnes Tirop in Herzogenaurach in 2021. Ngetich completed the first 5km in 14:25, which was four seconds faster than the previous women-only world record over this distance. The same month, the organizers of the run released a statement that the distance of the run was 25 m short which led to a non-record-eligible course.

2024

On 14 January 2024, Ngetich set a world record for the 10 km run by a woman in a mixed-gender race. At the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, she improved on the former world record of Yalemzerf Yehualaw by 28 seconds. Ngetich had a finishing time of 28:46, becoming the first woman to break the 29 minute barrier, on the roads or track. Her performance was faster than Letesenbet Gidey’s then-10,000 m world record of 29:01.03, and faster than the current 10,000 m world record of 28:54.14 set by Beatrice Chebet. She also improved the world record for the 5 km run by a woman in a mixed-gender race as she went through the 5km checkpoint in 14:13, 6 seconds faster than the previous record set by Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye in 2021.

At the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Serbia she finished in fifth place as Kenya won team gold.

On 27 October 2024, Ngetich won the Valencia Half Marathon in a time of 1 hour 3 minutes and 4 seconds, missing Letesenbet Gidey's world record of 1 hour 2 minutes and 52 seconds by 13 seconds. This time places Ngetich as the second fastest half marathon runner in history behind Gidey.

2025

On 22 February 2025, she won the Sirikwa Classic, the World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting in Eldoret. On 4 April 2025, she finished second in the opening Long Distance race of Grand Slam Track in Kingston, Jamaica, running 3000 metres in a personal best 8:28.75, to finish just behind Ejgayehu Taye. In the 5000 metres race that weekend, she again finished runner-up to Taye, running 14:59.80.