AU student Jacob Simonsen sets yet another Danish running record
Medical student Jacob Simonsen is now also the fastest Dane in history to run a half marathon. On Sunday, he ran a half marathon in Barcelona in one hour, one minute, and 11 seconds, breaking the previous Danish record from 1998. In September, he also set the Danish record for the fastest marathon.
Besides studying medicine at Aarhus University, 30-year-old Jacob Simonsen is also the fastest runner in Denmark in both the marathon and half marathon distances. Last September, he set the Danish marathon record in Berlin, and on Sunday, he broke the 27-year-old Danish half marathon record.
He achieved this at the Barcelona Half Marathon, finishing 14th with a time of 61:11 minutes. With this time, he knocked 44 seconds off the previous record set by Carsten Jørgensen at the World Half Marathon Championships in 1998.
In a press release from the Danish Athletics Federation, Jacob Simonsen explained that he had a feeling he could break the record on a good day.
“I had good legs today, I felt like I was running well, and the weather couldn't have been better. Everything went according to plan, I joined a group aiming for 61 minutes. I ran aggressively and even took the lead at times. Towards the end, I could definitely feel the fatigue; it was really tough, but I pushed through to the finish line.”
“I rank today’s record as number two – only the marathon record in Berlin is bigger. Now I just need to go home and keep training; everything is according to plan,” says Jacob Simonsen.
Besides being Denmark's fastest runner in the marathon and half marathon distances, Jacob Simonsen also holds the record for 10 kilometres. On 29 March, he will defend his Danish Championship title in the 10-kilometre race in Aarhus. On 12 April, he will compete in the European Half Marathon Championships in Brussels, and on 27 April, he will run the London Marathon, according to the Danish Athletics Federation.
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The Barcelona Half Marathon was won by Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda. He ran the 21,097 kilometres in 56:42 minutes, improving the world record by nearly a minute.