Ugandan Athlete Jacob Kiplimo became the first person to run a half marathon below 57 minutes, breaking the World record by 48 seconds in Barcelona.
Kiplimo produced a stunning performance in 56 minutes and 42 seconds to overtake Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha’s previous world record of 57:30 set in Valencia in October.
According to the World Athletics, Kiplimo’s run was the greatest single improvement on the men’s half marathon record.
The 24-year-old shattered the previous record by a stunning 49 seconds with a dominant performance at the eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona by Brooks.
Kiplimo’s previous world record of 57:31 was set in Lisbon in 2021 before it was surpassed by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, who recorded 57:30 in Valencia in October 2024.
He was delighted to put his name in the history books of the marathon.
Kiplimo said: “I am very excited about what I did today.
“It has been the perfect race. Ideal temperature, no wind at all, fantastic circuit, everything went better than expected. I found myself full of energy and decided to inject a brisker rhythm from the third kilometer, but I never imagined to perform under the 57-minute barrier; that’s astonishing.
“I wanted to have a great race, but I didn’t expect to break the world record.
“I started very strong in the first two kilometres to get away from my rivals. 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.”
He also set a world best of 39:47 for 15km during the World Athletics event, which was held in perfect condition of 13ºC with no wind.
In the women’s category, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei set a course record, completing the race in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 13 seconds.
At the age of fifteen, Kiplimo won the 10,000 metres bronze medal at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships behind fellow East Africans Rodgers Kwemoi and Aron Kifle.
At age 16, Kiplimo produced a performance of a lifetime to win gold in the men’s U20 race at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, the country’s first-ever gold medal at a World Cross, covering 8 km course in 22:40 minutes.
Kiplimo won bronze in the 10,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and is a two-time cross country world champion.
