Swedish runner becomes first non-African to break this half-marathon barrier
Despite being the first non-African-born athlete to break 59 minutes, Sweden’s Andreas Almgren’s record barely cracks the top 50 all-time
Kevin Morris
Swedish distance runner Andreas Almgren has had an incredible 2025 season, and on Sunday at the Valencia Half Marathon in Spain, he accomplished something that has never been done before by a non-African-born runner—breaking 59 minutes for a half-marathon.
The 30-year-old finished fourth behind a trio of Africans in 58:41, setting a new European record for the distance. Almgren obliterated the former mark of 59:13 by 32 seconds, set by Switzerland’s Julien Wanders in 2019 at the RAK Half Marathon in the UAE.
To put Almgren’s time in perspective, he averaged 2:47 per kilometre for 21.1K, which is equivalent to a speed of 21.5 km/h.
For decades, East African-born athletes have dominated the all-time lists in both the half-marathon and marathon. Even with Almgren’s record-breaking performance, he still placed fourth, and his time only cracks the top 50 on the World Athletics all-time list (though he remains the first athlete born outside Africa to run under 59 minutes).
This isn’t Almgren’s first European record. The 30-year-old also owns the European 10K record, which he set earlier this year at the Valencia 10K. There must be something special about the Spanish coastal city.
Récord de Europa + 5 récords nacionales en el #21KValencia:
🇪🇺 🇸🇪Andreas Almgren 58:41
🇧🇮 Rodrigue Kwizera 58:39
🇿🇦 Adriaan Wildschutt 59:13
🇸🇮 Klara Lukann 1:08:04
🇫🇷 Alessia Zarbo 1:08:20¡Congratulations!https://t.co/0yPizjrnvC
— Medio Maratón Valencia (@MedioMaratonVLC) October 27, 2025
This latest record comes five weeks after Almgren won his country’s first-ever medal in the men’s 10,000m at a World Athletics Championships, taking bronze behind France’s Jimmy Gressier and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who, ironically, won Sunday’s Valencia Half in 58:01.
In an interview last month with Sweden’s SVT Sport, Almgren alluded to him having a possible future in the marathon…and based on the success he’s had on the roads so far, that future looks very bright.
