Uganda&rsquo;s Jacob Kiplimo scripted history on Sunday (Feb 16) by becoming the first person to slice the 57-minute barrier for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/half-marathon">half-marathon</a>, setting a remarkable new world record of 56 minutes and 42 seconds in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/barcelona">Barcelona</a>.
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&rsquo;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, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/tags/netherlands">Netherlands</a>. Notably, during his 2021 half-marathon world record run of 57:31, he clocked a 40:27 15k split.
See the post here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What just happened? 🤯 🇺🇬&rsquo;s Jacob Kiplimo smashes the half marathon world record, flying to 56:42 at the Barcelona Half Marathon 🚀 📸Daniel Meumann for <a href="https://t.co/eAHK0L0xXB">https://t.co/eAHK0L0xXB</a> *Subject to usual ratification procedures <a href="https://t.co/rNfhQxjOJc">pic.twitter.com/rNfhQxjOJc</a>
&mdash; World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldAthletics/status/1891047509834809517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2025</a></blockquote>

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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&mdash;13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) with no wind&mdash;and he took full advantage, setting a world best of 39:47 for 15km en route to his half-marathon triumph.
<h2>'Didn't expect to break world record'</h2>
The improvement marks the greatest single advance on the men&rsquo;s world half-marathon record. &ldquo;I am very excited about what I did today,&rdquo; 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&rsquo;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)

Sports, Olympics: The 24-year-old, a two-time world cross-country champion, reclaimed the half-marathon record by slicing 48 seconds off the previous mark of 57:30

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo scripted history on Sunday (Feb 16) by becoming the first person to slice the 57-minute barrier for the half-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. Also Read: Premier League: Tottenham beat Manchester United in battle of strugglers 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. See the post here: What just happened? 🤯 🇺🇬’s Jacob Kiplimo smashes the half marathon world record, flying to 56:42 at the Barcelona Half Marathon 🚀 📸Daniel Meumann for https://t.co/eAHK0L0xXB *Subject to usual ratification procedures pic.twitter.com/rNfhQxjOJc — World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 16, 2025 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)

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

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei ran the fastest half-marathon ever by a woman on Sunday, winning the Great North Run in a time of one hour, four minutes and 28 seconds.

Her time was 23 seconds quicker than the previous best of 1:04.51 by fellow Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei, set in 2017 but the course is not eligible for records.

Mo Farah won the men's elite race for a record sixth successive year as he warms up to&nbsp;defend his Chicago Marathon title next month.

Four-time Olympic champion Farah, 36, was pushed hard by Tamirat Tola, but proved too strong in the final mile for the Ethiopian, to finish the 13.1-mile course in 59min 7sec. Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands was third.

Farah is aiming to establish himself among the world's elite marathon runners.

He claimed his first marathon title last year when he won in Chicago in a time of 2:05.11-- a European record.

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei ran the fastest half-marathon ever by a woman on Sunday, winning the Great North Run in a time of one hour, four minutes and 28 seconds. Her time was 23 seconds quicker than the previous best of 1:04.

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei ran the fastest half-marathon ever by a woman on Sunday, winning the Great North Run in a time of one hour, four minutes and 28 seconds. Her time was 23 seconds quicker than the previous best of 1:04.51 by fellow Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei, set in 2017 but the course is not eligible for records. Mo Farah won the men's elite race for a record sixth successive year as he warms up to defend his Chicago Marathon title next month. Four-time Olympic champion Farah, 36, was pushed hard by Tamirat Tola, but proved too strong in the final mile for the Ethiopian, to finish the 13.1-mile course in 59min 7sec. Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands was third. Farah is aiming to establish himself among the world's elite marathon runners. He claimed his first marathon title last year when he won in Chicago in a time of 2:05.11-- a European record.

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei runs fastest-ever women's half-marathon

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

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei runs fastest-ever women's half-marathon