World Athletics Road Running Championships

The World Athletics Road Running Championships is a biennial international road running competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010.^[1] It was renamed the IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2006 and reduced in distance to a 20K run, but reverted to the half marathon distance the following year and to the original competition name the year after that. The competition was renamed to its current title in 2020 after the governing body rebranded itself moving away from the long-standing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) moniker and expanded to include additional races.^[2]

The competition replaced the female-only IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships, which was held annually from 1983 to 1991.

The last Championships was held in 2023.^[3]

Editions

Key

Editions in gold were held as World Road Running Championships

Edition in orange denotes introduction of biennial World Athletics Half Marathon Championships

Year	Edition	Venue	Country	Date	No. of athletes^[a]	No. of nations
1992	1st	Tyneside	United Kingdom	19–20 September	204	36
1993	2nd	Brussels	Belgium	3 October	254	49
1994	3rd	Oslo	Norway	24 September	214	48
1995	4th	Montbéliard–Belfort	France	1 October	243	54
1996	5th	Palma de Mallorca	Spain	29 September	206	53
1997	6th	Košice	Slovakia	4 October	226	45
1998	7th	Uster	Switzerland	27 September	236	54
1999	8th	Palermo	Italy	3 October	192	48
2000	9th	Veracruz	Mexico	12 November	182	52
2001	10th	Bristol	United Kingdom	7 October	200	52
2002	11th	Brussels	Belgium	5 May	198	60
2003	12th	Vilamoura	Portugal	4 October	171	49
2004	13th	New Delhi	India	3 October	152	55
2005	14th	Edmonton	Canada	1 October	156	43
2006	15th	Debrecen	Hungary	8 October	140	39 (20 km race)
2007	16th	Udine	Italy	14 October	144	37
2008	17th	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	12 October	155	42
2009	18th	Birmingham	United Kingdom	11 October	157	39
2010	19th	Nanning	China	16 October	123	30
2012	20th	Kavarna^[4]	Bulgaria	6 October	146	41
2014	21st	Copenhagen^[5]	Denmark	29 March	203	56
2016	22nd	Cardiff	United Kingdom	26 March	169	45
2018	23rd	Valencia	Spain	24 March	279	79 + ART
2020	24th	Gdynia	Poland	17 October	225	53 + ART
~~2022~~	~~25th~~	~~Yangzhou~~	~~China~~	~~13 November~~	cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2023	25th	Riga	Latvia	1 October	347^[6]	56 + ART^[6]

History

The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was first held in 1992. It comprised three races: the men's race, the women's race and the junior men's race. Furthermore, a team competition was held in each category, with the winners being decided by combining the performances of a country's top three finishers. The country with the lowest aggregate time won the team competition. The junior men's race was held in only the first and second editions, and was removed from the programme from 1994 onwards.

The competition went largely unchanged until 2006, when the competition was renamed as the IAAF World Road Running Championships. Aside from the name change, the significant difference was the distance of the race, changing from a half marathon to a 20 kilometres road race. The 20 km race featured only at the 2006 edition, and the half marathon distance returned for the 2007 World Road Running Championships.

On 29 November 2007, the IAAF announced that the name of the competition would revert to its original title of the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, beginning with the 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 12 October 2008.^[7]^[8]

This competition is not to be confused with the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships which were run from 1983 to 1991, or the IAAF World Road Relay Championships which took place between 1992 and 1998.

The 2020 edition of the competition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[9] Although it was held later that year, many countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.S., declined to participate.^[10]

Similarly, the 2022 edition of the competition was postponed twice before being cancelled due to the pandemic.^[11]^[12]^[10] As a result of the cancellation, the World Athletics Council decided to award the 2027 World Athletics Road Running Championships to Yangzhou, the city originally scheduled to host the 2022 competition.^[11]

Competition format

The competition is generally held every October. Runners compete on public roads which have been closed off to traffic specifically for the event. Prize money varies from US$30,000 to US$3000.^{[citation needed]}

Records

World Half Marathon Championships records
Type	Time	Athlete(s)	Nationality	Edition
Men's race	58:49	Jacob Kiplimo	Uganda	2020
Women's race	1:05:16 WR Wo	Peres Jepchirchir	Kenya	2020
Men's team	2:58:10	Kibiwott Kandie (58:54) Leonard Barsoton (59:34) Benard Kimeli (59:42)	Kenya	2020
Women's team	3:16:39	Yalemzerf Yehualaw (1:05:19) Zeineba Yimer (1:05:39) Ababel Yeshaneh (1:05:41)	Ethiopia	2020

World Road Running Championships records
Type	Time	Athlete(s)	Nationality	Edition
Men's race	58:59	Zersenay Tadese	Eritrea	2007
Women's race	1:06:25	Lornah Kiplagat	Netherlands	2007
Men's team	2:58:54	Patrick Makau Musyoki Evans Cheruiyot Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba	Kenya	2007
Women's team	3:23:33	Mary Jepkosgei Keitany Pamela Chepchumba Everline Kimwei	Kenya	2007

Medalists

Key

Medallists in gold won at the World Road Running Championships

Men

Half marathon

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1992	Benson Masya (KEN)	1:00:24	Antonio Silio (ARG)	1:00:40	Boay Akonay (TAN)	1:00:45
1993	Vincent Rousseau (BEL)	1:01:06	Steve Moneghetti (AUS)	1:01:10	Carl Thackery (GBR)	1:01:13
1994	Khalid Skah (MAR)	1:00:27	Germán Silva (MEX)	1:00:28	Ronaldo da Costa (BRA)	1:00:54
1995	Moses Tanui (KEN)	1:01:45	Paul Yego (KEN)	1:01:46	Charles Tangus (KEN)	1:01:50
1996	Stefano Baldini (ITA)	1:01:17	Josephat Kiprono (KEN)	1:01:30	Tendai Chimusasa (ZIM)	1:02:00
1997	Shem Kororia (KEN)	59:56 CR	Moses Tanui (KEN)	59:58	Kenneth Cheruiyot (KEN)	1:00:00
1998	Paul Koech (KEN)	1:00:01	Hendrick Ramaala (RSA)	1:00:24	Khalid Skah (MAR)	1:00:24
1999	Paul Tergat (KEN)	1:01:50	Hendrick Ramaala (RSA)	1:01:50	Tesfaye Jifar (ETH)	1:01:51
2000	Paul Tergat (KEN)	1:03:47	Phaustin Baha Sulle (TAN)	1:03:48	Tesfaye Jifar (ETH)	1:03:50
2001	Haile Gebrselassie (ETH)	1:00:03	Tesfaye Jifar (ETH)	1:00:04	John Yuda Msuri (TAN)	1:00:12
2002	Paul Malakwen Kosgei (KEN)	1:00:39	Jaouad Gharib (MAR)	1:00:42	John Yuda Msuri (TAN)	1:00:57
2003	Martin Lel (KEN)	1:00:49	Fabiano Joseph Naasi (TAN)	1:00:52	Martin Sulle (TAN)	1:00:56
2004	Paul Kirui (KEN)	1:02:15	Fabiano Joseph Naasi (TAN)	1:02:31	Ahmad Hassan Abdullah (QAT)	1:02:36
2005	Fabiano Joseph Naasi (TAN)	1:01:08	Mubarak Hassan Shami (QAT)	1:01:09	Yonas Kifle (ERI)	1:01:13
2006 (20 km)	Zersenay Tadese (ERI)	56:01	Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba (KEN)	56:41	Wilson Kebenei (KEN)	57:15
2007	Zersenay Tadese (ERI)	58:59	Patrick Makau Musyoki (KEN)	59:02	Evans Cheruiyot (KEN)	59:05
2008	Zersenay Tadese (ERI)	59:56 =CR	Patrick Makau Musyoki (KEN)	1:01:54	Ahmad Hassan Abdullah (QAT)	1:01:57
2009	Zersenay Tadese (ERI)	59:35 CR	Bernard Kipyego (KEN)	59:59	Dathan Ritzenhein (USA)	1:00:00
2010	Wilson Kiprop (KEN)	1:00:07	Zersenay Tadese (ERI)	1:00:11	Sammy Kitwara (KEN)	1:00:22
2012	Zersenay Tadese (ERI)	1:00:19	Deressa Chimsa (ETH)	1:00:51	John Nzau Mwangangi (KEN)	1:01:01
2014	Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN)	59:08 CR	Samuel Tsegay (ERI)	59:21	Guye Adola (ETH)	59:21
2016	Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN)	59:10	Bedan Karoki Muchiri (KEN)	59:36	Mo Farah (GBR)	59:59
2018	Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN)	1:00:02	Abraham Cheroben (BHR)	1:00:22	Aron Kifle (ERI)	1:00:31
2020	Jacob Kiplimo (UGA)	58:49	Kibiwott Kandie (KEN)	58:54	Amedework Walelegn (ETH)	59:08
2022	cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic^[11]
2023	Sabastian Sawe (KEN)	59:10	Daniel Ebenyo (KEN)	59:14	Samwel Mailu (KEN)	59:19

Team competition

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1992	Kenya Benson Masya Lameck Aguta Joseph Keino	3:02:25	Great Britain Dave Lewis Paul Evans Carl Thackery	3:04:5	Brazil Artur Castro Ronaldo da Costa Delmir dos Santos	3:05:56
1993	Kenya Lameck Aguta Thomas Osano Joseph Cheromei	3:05:40	Australia Steve Moneghetti John Andrews Pat Carroll	3:05:43	Great Britain Carl Thackery Mark Flint Dave Lewis	3:06:10
1994	Kenya Godfrey Kiprotich Shem Kororia Andrew Masai	3:03:36	Mexico Germán Silva Martín Pitayo Benjamín Paredes	3:03:47	Morocco Khalid Skah Salah Hissou Abdelkadir Mouaziz	3:05:58
1995	Kenya Moses Tanui Paul Yego Charles Tangus	3:05:21	Spain Antonio Serrano Bartolomé Serrano Pablo Sierra	3:07:51	Italy Vincenzo Modica Danilo Goffi Giacomo Leone	3:08:31
1996	Italy Stefano Baldini Giacomo Leone Vincenzo Modica	3:07:42	Spain Carlos de la Torre Alejandro Gómez José Manuel García	3:08:36	Japan Toshiyuki Hayata Masatoshi Ibata Katsuhiko Hanada	3:08:43
1997	Kenya Shem Kororia Moses Tanui Kenneth Cheruiyot	2:59:54 CR	South Africa Hendrick Ramaala Gert Thys Makhosonke Fika	3:03:34	Ethiopia Abraham Assefa Lemma Alemayehu Tesfaye Tola	3:03:46
1998	South Africa Hendrick Ramaala Gert Thys Abner Chipu	3:02:21	Kenya Paul Koech Shem Kororia John Gwako	3:03:07	Ethiopia Ibrahim Seid Girma Alemayehu Addis Abebe	3:05:18
1999	South Africa Hendrick Ramaala Abner Chipu Mluleki Nobanda	3:06:01	Ethiopia Tesfaye Jifar Tesfaye Tola Fekadu Degefu	3:06:03	Kenya Paul Tergat Laban Chege Sammy Korir	3:06:03
2000	Kenya Paul Tergat Joseph Kimani David Ruto	3:11:38	Ethiopia Tesfaye Jifar Ibrahim Seid Gemechu Kebede	3:14:45	Belgium Koen Allaert Guy Fays Christian Nemeth	3:18:35
2001	Ethiopia Haile Gebrselassie Tesfaye Jifar Tesfaye Tola	3:00:31	Kenya Evans Rutto Peter Kiplagat Chebet Chris Cheboiboch	3:02:53	Tanzania John Yuda Msuri Phaustin Baha Sulle Benedict Ako	3:05:08
2002	Kenya Paul Malakwen Kosgei Charles Kamathi Paul Kirui	3:00:31	Japan Atsushi Sato Toshihide Kat Kurao Umeki	3:02:53	Ethiopia Tesfaye Jifa Amebesse Tolossa Worku Bikila	3:05:08
2003	Tanzania Fabiano Joseph Naasi Martin Sulle John Yuda Msuri	3:03:01	Kenya Martin Lel John Cheruiyot Korir Yusuf Songoka	3:03:09	Ethiopia Tesfaye Tola Dereje Adere Mesfin Hailu	3:07:34
2004	Kenya Paul Kirui John Cheruiyot Korir Wilson Kebenei	3:07:55	Ethiopia Solomon Tsige Alene Emere Berhanu Addane	3:08:37	Uganda Wilson Busienei Martin Toroitich Joseph Nsubuga	3:13:48
2005	Ethiopia Sileshi Sihine Abebe Dinkesa Lishan Yegezu	3:06:18	Eritrea Yonas Kifle Yared Asmerom Tesfayohannes Mesfin	3:07:05	Japan Kazuo Ietani Takayuki Matsumiya Takanobu Otsubo	3:08:30
2006 (20 km)	Kenya Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba Wilson Kebenei Wilfred Taragon	2:51:18	Eritrea Zersenay Tadese Yonas Kifle Tesfayohannes Mesfin	2:53:19	Ethiopia Deriba Merga Tadese Tola Demise Tsega	2:54:17
2007	Kenya Patrick Makau Musyoki Evans Cheruiyot Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba	2:58:54	Eritrea Zersenay Tadese Yonas Kifle Michael Tesfay	2:59:08	Ethiopia Deriba Merga Assefa Raji Tariku Jufar	3:01:15
2008	Kenya Patrick Makau Musyoki Stephen Kipkoech Kibiwott Joseph Maregu	3:07:24	Eritrea Zersenay Tadese Michael Tesfay Mogos Ahferom	3:09:40	Qatar Ahmad Hassan Abdullah Essa Ismail Rashed Ali Dawoud Sedam	3:10:52
2009	Kenya Bernard Kipyego Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich Wilson Chebet	3:01:06	Eritrea Zersenay Tadese Samuel Tsegay Adhanom Abraha	3:02:39	Ethiopia Tilahun Regassa Dereje Tesfaye Abebe Negewo	3:06:42
2010	Kenya Wilson Kiprop Sammy Kitwara Silas Kipruto	3:01:32	Eritrea Zersenay Tadese Samuel Tsegay Tewelde Estifanos	3:03:04	Ethiopia Lelisa Desisa Birhanu Bekele Asefa Mengstu	3:05:26
2012	Kenya John Nzau Mwangangi Pius Maiyo Kirop Stephen Kosgei Kibet	3:03:52	Eritrea Zersenay Tadese Tewelde Estifanos Kiflom Sium	3:04:41	Ethiopia Deressa Chimsa Belay Assefa Habtamu Assefa	3:05:43
2014	Eritrea Samuel Tsegay Zersenay Tadese Nguse Tesfaldet Amlosom	2:58:59 CR	Kenya Geoffrey Kamworor Wilson Kiprop Kenneth Kipkemoi	2:59:38	Ethiopia Guye Adola Adugna Takele Bonsa Dida	3:00:48
2016	Kenya Geoffrey Kamworor Bedan Karoki Muchiri Simon Cheprot	2:58:58 CR	Ethiopia Abayneh Ayele Tamirat Tola Mule Wasihun	3:01:16	Eritrea Abrar Osman Nguse Tesfaldet Amlosom Hiskel Tewelde	3:06:18
2018	Ethiopia Jemal Yimer Getaneh Molla Betesfa Getahun	3:02:14	Kenya Geoffrey Kamworor Leonard Barsoton Barselius Kipyego	3:02:40	Bahrain Abraham Cheroben Aweke Ayalew Albert Rop	3:02:52
2020	Kenya Kibiwott Kandie Leonard Barsoton Benard Kimeli	2:58:10	Ethiopia Amedework Walelegn Andamlak Belihu Leul Gebresilase	2:58:25	Uganda Jacob Kiplimo Joshua Cheptegei Victor Kiplangat	2:58:39
2022	cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic^[11]
2023	Kenya Sabastian Sawe Daniel Ebenyo Samwel Mailu	2:57:43	Ethiopia Jemal Yimer Mekonnen Nibret Melak Tsegay Kidanu	2:9:54	South Africa Thabang Mosiako Stephen Mokoka Elroy Gelant	3:01.17

5km

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
2023	Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH)	12:59 CR	Yomif Kejelcha (ETH)	13:02	Nicholas Kimeli (KEN)	13:16

Road Mile

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
2023	Hobbs Kessler (USA)	3:56.13 WR	Callum Elson (GBR)	3:56.41 AR	Samuel Prakel (USA)	3:56.43

Women

Half marathon

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1992	Liz McColgan (GBR)	1:08:53	Megumi Fujiwara (JPN)	1:09:21	Rosanna Munerotto (ITA)	1:09:38
1993	Conceição Ferreira (POR)	1:10:07	Mari Tanigawa (JPN)	1:10:09	Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	1:10:12
1994	Elana Meyer (RSA)	1:08:36 CR	Iulia Olteanu (ROU)	1:09:15	Anuța Cătună (ROU)	1:09:35
1995	Valentina Yegorova (RUS)	1:09:58	Cristina Pomacu (ROU)	1:10:22	Anuța Cătună (ROU)	1:10:28
1996	Ren Xiujuan (CHN)	1:10:39	Lidia Șimon (ROU)	1:10:57	Aurica Buia (ROU)	1:11:01
1997	Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	1:08:14 CR	Cristina Pomacu (ROU)	1:08:43	Lidia Șimon (ROU)	1:09:05
1998	Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	1:08:29	Elana Meyer (RSA)	1:08:32	Lidia Șimon (ROU)	1:08:58
1999	Tegla Loroupe (KEN)	1:08:48	Mizuki Noguchi (JPN)	1:09:12	Catherine Ndereba (KEN)	1:09:23
2000	Paula Radcliffe (GBR)	1:09:07	Susan Chepkemei (KEN)	1:09:40	Lidia Șimon (ROU)	1:10:24
2001	Paula Radcliffe (GBR)	1:06:47 CR	Susan Chepkemei (KEN)	1:07:36	Berhane Adere (ETH)	1:08:17
2002	Berhane Adere (ETH)	1:09:06	Susan Chepkemei (KEN)	1:09:13	Jeļena Prokopčuka (LAT)	1:09:15
2003	Paula Radcliffe (GBR)	1:07:35	Berhane Adere (ETH)	1:09:02	Benita Willis (AUS)	1:09:26
2004	Sun Yingjie (CHN)	1:08:40	Lydia Cheromei (KEN)	1:09:00	Constantina Diță (ROU)	1:09:07
2005	Constantina Diță (ROU)	1:09:17	Lornah Kiplagat (NED)	1:10:19	Susan Chepkemei (KEN)	1:10:20
2006 (20 km)	Lornah Kiplagat (NED)	1:03:21 WR	Constantina Diță (ROU)	1:03:23	Rita Jeptoo (KEN)	1:03:47
2007	Lornah Kiplagat (NED)	1:06:25 WR_wo	Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (KEN)	1:06:48	Pamela Chepchumba (KEN)	1:08:06
2008	Lornah Kiplagat (NED)	1:08:37	Aselefech Mergia (ETH)	1:09:57	Pamela Chepchumba (KEN)	1:10:01
2009	Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (KEN)	1:06:36 CR	Philes Ongori (KEN)	1:07:38	Aberu Kebede (ETH)	1:07:39
2010	Florence Kiplagat (KEN)	1:08:24	Dire Tune (ETH)	1:08:34	Peninah Arusei (KEN)	1:09:05
2012	Meseret Hailu (ETH)	1:08:55	Feyse Tadese (ETH)	1:08:56	Paskalia Chepkorir Kipkoech (KEN)	1:09:04
2014	Gladys Cherono Kiprono (KEN)	1:07:29	Mary Wacera Ngugi (KEN)	1:07:44	Sally Chepyego Kaptich (KEN)	1:07:52
2016	Peres Jepchirchir (KEN)	1:07:31	Cynthia Jerotich Limo (KEN)	1:07:34	Mary Wacera Ngugi (KEN)	1:07:54
2018	Netsanet Gudeta (ETH)	1:06:11 WR_wo	Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN)	1:06:54	Pauline Kaveke Kamulu (KEN)	1:06:56
2020	Peres Jepchirchir (KEN)	1:05:16 WR_wo	Melat Yisak Kejeta (GER)	1:05:18	Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH)	1:05:19
2022	cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic^[11]
2023	Peres Jepchirchir (KEN)	1:07.25	Margaret Kipkemboi (KEN)	1:07.26	Catherine Amanang'ole (KEN)	1:07.34

Team competition

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1992	Japan Megumi Fujiwara Miyoko Asahina Eriko Asai	3:30:39	Great Britain Liz McColgan Andrea Wallace Suzanne Rigg	3:33:05	Romania Anuța Cătună Iulia Olteanu Aurica Buia	3:33:27
1993	Romania Elena Murgoci Anuța Cătună Iulia Olteanu	3:32:18	Japan Mari Tanigawa Miyoko Asahina Akari Takemoto	3:32:22	Portugal Conceição Ferreira Albertina Machado Rosa Oliveira	3:34:12
1994	Romania Iulia Olteanu Anuța Cătună Elena Fidatov	3:29:03 CR	Norway Hilde Stavik Brynhild Synstnes Grete Kirkeberg	3:33:36	Japan Mari Tanigawa Mineko Watanabe Yukari Komatsu	3:35:39
1995	Romania Cristina Pomacu Anuța Cătună Elena Fidatov	3:31:29	Russia Valentina Yegorova Alla Zhilyaeva Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova	3:33:12	Spain Ana Isabel Alonso Rocío Ríos Carmen Fuentes	3:34:26
1996	Romania Lidia Șimon Aurica Buia Nuța Olaru	3:33:05	France Christine Mallo Zahia Dahmani Muriel Linsolas	3:38:44	Italy Lucilla Andreucci Annalisa Scurti Sonia Maccioni	3:41:28
1997	Romania Cristina Pomacu Lidia Șimon Nuța Olaru	3:27:40 CR	Kenya Tegla Loroupe Joyce Chepchumba Delilah Asiago	3:27:57	Japan Mari Sotani Noriko Geji Hiromi Katayama	3:31:38
1998	Kenya Tegla Loroupe Joyce Chepchumba Leah Malot	3:29:43	Romania Lidia Șimon Cristina Pomacu Constantina Diță	3:32:19	Spain Julia Vaquero María Luisa Larraga Rocío Ríos	3:34:18
1999	Kenya Tegla Loroupe Catherine Ndereba Joyce Chepchumba	3:27:40 =CR	Japan Mizuki Noguchi Reiko Tosa Hiromi Katayama	3:30:06	Russia Valentina Yegorova Lyudmila Biktasheva Alina Ivanova	3:31:49
2000	Romania Lidia Șimon Mihaela Botezan Cristina Pomacu	3:34:22	Japan Mizuki Noguchi Yukiko Okamoto Yasuko Hashimoto	3:36:25	Russia Lidiya Grigoryeva Galina Aleksandrova Zinaida Semenova	3:45:41
2001	Kenya Susan Chepkemei Isabella Ochichi Caroline Kwambai	3:28:04	Japan Mizuki Noguchi Yasuyo Iwamoto Takako Kotorida	3:30:08	Ethiopia Berhane Adere Meseret Kotu Teyba Erkesso	3:30:20
2002	Kenya Susan Chepkemei Pamela Chepchumba Lenah Cheruiyot	3:28:22	Russia Svetlana Zakharova Lyudmila Petrova Irina Safarova	3:30:05	Ethiopia Berhane Adere Asha Gigi Leila Aman	3:30:58
2003	Russia Lidiya Grigoryeva Alla Zhilyaeva Lyudmila Biktasheva	3:30:16	Japan Mikie Takanaka Takako Kotorida Risa Hagiwara	3:34:23	Romania Constantina Diță Luminița Talpoș Nuța Olaru	3:35:07
2004	Ethiopia Eyerusalem Kuma Bezunesh Bekele Teyba Erkesso	3:36:00	Romania Constantina Diță Mihaela Botezan Luminița Talpoș	3:36:08	Russia Irina Timofeyeva Alina Ivanova Yelena Burykina	3:38:21
2005	Romania Constantina Diță Mihaela Botezan Nuța Olaru	3:31:00	Russia Galina Bogomolova Lidiya Grigoryeva Irina Timofeyeva	3:33:05	Japan Terumi Asoshina Hiromi Ominami Yoko Yagi	3:35:42
2006 (20 km)	Kenya Rita Jeptoo Edith Masai Eunice Jepkorir	3:15:55	Ethiopia Dire Tune Teyba Erkesso Ashu Kasim	3:18:50	Japan Kayoko Fukushi Yurika Nakamura Ryoko Kizaki	3:19:00
2007	Kenya Mary Jepkosgei Keitany Pamela Chepchumba Everline Kimwei	3:23:33	Ethiopia Bezunesh Bekele Atsede Habtamu Atsede Baysa	3:25:51	Japan Chisato Osaki Akane Taira Yoshimi Ozaki	3:27:39
2008	Ethiopia Aselefech Mergia Genet Getaneh Abebu Gelan	3:30:59	Kenya Pamela Chepchumba Peninah Arusei Julia Mumbi Muraga	3:31:24	Japan Yukiko Akaba Miki Ohira Yuko Machida	3:40:58
2009^†	Kenya Mary Jepkosgei Keitany Philes Ongori Caroline Kilel	3:22:30 CR	Ethiopia Aberu Kebede Mestawet Tufa Tirfi Tsegaye	3:26:14	Japan Yurika Nakamura Ryoko Kizaki Remi Nakazato	3:31:31
2010	Kenya Florence Kiplagat Peninah Arusei Joyce Chepkirui	3:26:59	Ethiopia Dire Tune Feyse Tadese Meseret Mengistu	3:27:33	Japan Yoshimi Ozaki Ryoko Kizaki Azusa Nojiri	3:33:40
2012	Ethiopia Meseret Hailu Feyse Tadese Emebt Etea	3:27:52	Kenya Paskalia Chepkorir Kipkoech Lydia Cheromei Pauline Njeri Kahenya	3:28:39	Japan Tomomi Tanaka Mai Ito Asami Kato	3:34:45
2014	Kenya Gladys Cherono Kiprono Mary Wacera Ngugi Sally Chepyego Kaptich	3:23:05	Ethiopia Netsanet Gudeta Tsehay Desalegn Genet Yalew	3:27:05	Japan Sayo Nomura Risa Takenaka Reia Iwade	3:31:33
2016	Kenya Peres Jepchirchir Cynthia Jerotich Limo Mary Wacera Ngugi	3:22:59	Ethiopia Netsanet Gudeta Genet Yalew Dihininet Demsew Jara	3:26:29	Japan Yuka Ando Miho Shimizu Mizuki Matsuda	3:32:25
2018	Ethiopia Netsanet Gudeta Zeineba Yimer Meseret Belete	3:22:27 CR	Kenya Joyciline Jepkosgei Pauline Kaveke Kamulu Ruth Chepngetich	3:23:02	Bahrain Eunice Chumba Desi Mokonin Dalila Abdulkadir	3:23:39
2020	Ethiopia Yalemzerf Yehualaw Zeineba Yimer Ababel Yeshaneh	3:16:39 CR	Kenya Peres Jepchirchir Joyciline Jepkosgei Brillian Jepkorir Kipkoech	3:18:10	Germany Melat Yisak Kejeta Laura Hottenrott Rabea Schöneborn	3:28:42
2022	cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic^[11]
2023	Kenya Peres Jepchirchir Margaret Kipkemboi Catherine Amanang'ole	3:22.25	Ethiopia Tsigie Gebreselama Ftaw Zeray Yalemget Yaregal	3:27.55	United Kingdom Calli Thackery Samantha Harrison Clara Evans	3:29:15

^†: In 2009, the team from Russia was initially ranked 3rd (3:31:23), but fell behind Japan after the disqualification of Inga Abitova. Her competition results were annulled, beginning October 10, 2009, because of breaking anti-doping regulations.^[13] ^[14]

5km

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
2023	Beatrice Chebet (KEN)	14:35 CR	Lillian Kasait Rengeruk (KEN)	14:39	Ejgayehu Taye (ETH)	14:40

Road Mile

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
2023	Diribe Welteji (ETH)	4:20.98 WR	Freweyni Hailu (ETH)	4:23.06	Faith Kipyegon (KEN)	4:24.13

Junior men

Individual

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1992	Kassa Tadesse (ETH)	1:04:51	Meck Mothuli (RSA)	1:05:01	Francesco Ingargiola (ITA)	1:05:18
1993	Meck Mothuli (RSA)	1:02:11	Biruk Bekele (ETH)	1:03:32	Isaac Radebe (RSA)	1:03:35

Team competition

Year	Gold		Silver		Bronze
1992	Italy	3:17:39	Ethiopia	3:18:56	South Africa	3:20:04
1993	South Africa	3:09:46	Ethiopia	3:13:34	Italy	3:17:12

All-time medal table

Updated after the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships.


Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Kenya	47	28	18	93
2	Ethiopia	13	20	19	52
3	Romania	8	7	9	24
4	Eritrea	6	9	3	18
5	South Africa	5	5	2	12
6	Great Britain	4	2	3	9
7	Netherlands	3	1	0	4
8	Italy	3	0	5	8
9	Tanzania	2	3	5	10
10	Russia	2	3	3	8
11	China	2	0	0	2
12	Japan	1	9	13	23
13	Morocco	1	1	2	4
14	Uganda	1	0	2	3
15	Belgium	1	0	1	2
15	Portugal	1	0	1	2
17	Spain	0	2	2	4
18	Australia	0	2	1	3
19	Mexico	0	2	0	2
20	Qatar	0	1	3	4
21	Bahrain	0	1	2	3
22	Germany	0	1	1	2
23	Argentina	0	1	0	1
	France	0	1	0	1
	Norway	0	1	0	1
26	Brazil	0	0	2	2
27	Latvia	0	0	1	1
	United States	0	0	1	1
	Zimbabwe	0	0	1	1
Totals (29 entries)		100	100	100	300