Jacob Kiplimo's road to the top of the world started in Kween, a rural district in the east of Uganda, close to the Kenyan border.

Athlete Refugee Team member Otmane Nait-Hammou is making a habit of rubbing elbows with some of the world's finest runners at World Championships.

Having the physical tools is one thing, but to go where no woman has gone before – and set a world record – you need a whole lot of determination to go with it.

For the first time in the 28-year history of this event, a Ugandan athlete stood proud atop the podium, but it wasn’t the one most expected. In the men’s race at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on Saturday (17), it was Jacob Kiplimo and not Joshua Cheptegei who reigned supreme, the 19-year-old coming of age with his first global title at senior level.

In an arena where endurance is king, speed also proved a precious commodity. In the end, Peres Jepchirchir needed both to reign supreme in the women’s race at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on Saturday (17), powering to gold in 1:05:16, a world record in a women-only race.

The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 take place in the northern Polish city on Saturday, 17 October, and you can follow all the action on the World Athletics website, its associated platforms, and via more than 20 broadcasters or a live stream that will beam the action around the world.

For Joshua Cheptegei and Peres Jepchirchir, 2020 has been a year to remember, but the one thing missing has been a major championship medal. At the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on Saturday (17), both will have a chance fill that void.

For the first time in the history of the championships, the women’s race at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 will have two current world record-holders for the distance as Peres Jepchirchir and Ababel Yeshaneh line up against one another on Saturday (17).

When the gun sounds for the men’s race at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on Saturday (17), all eyes will be on an athlete who has never previously raced the 21.1km distance.

Poland is ready to welcome about 250 runners from more than 50 teams to compete at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on Saturday 17 October.

When the elite men and women hit the streets for the rescheduled World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on 17 October, it will be a symbolic moment for the sport of athletics in these challenging times.

Annemari Kiekara has vivid memories of the marathon at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.