Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo shatters half-marathon world record in Barcelona

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo scripted history on Sunday (Feb 16) by becoming the first person to slice the 57-minute barrier for thehalf-marathon, setting a remarkable new world record of 56 minutes and 42 seconds in Barcelona.

The 24-year-old, a two-time world cross-country champion, reclaimed the half-marathon record by cutting 48 seconds off the previous mark of 57:30 set by Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha in Valencia last October.

Kiplimo had previously held the half-marathon world record from 2021 to 2024.

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Kiplimo’s strength in the half-marathon's midsection had already been proven. In 2024, he set the world record for the road 15k with a time of 40:42 in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Notably, during his 2021 half-marathon world record run of 57:31, he clocked a 40:27 15k split.

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On Sunday, Kiplimo surpassed even that achievement, hitting 15k at 40:07 as he ran solo through Barcelona in the latter half of the race. The conditions were ideal—13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) with no wind—and he took full advantage, setting a world best of 39:47 for 15km en route to his half-marathon triumph.

'Didn't expect to break world record'

The improvement marks the greatest single advance on the men’s world half-marathon record. “I am very excited about what I did today,” said Kiplimo, who made his Olympic debut in the 5,000m in Rio at just 15 years old.

"I started strong, I wanted to have a great race, but I didn’t expect to break the world record," he said. "As the kilometres passed and I saw that I was going at record pace, I told myself that I had to maintain that pace no matter what it took."

(With inputs from agencies)