Ugandan Kiplimo sets men’s half-marathon world record in under 57 minutes

Ugandas Jacob Kiplimo set a men’s half-marathon word record on Sunday and also became the first runner to go under 57 minutes. 

The 24-year-old Kiplimo set a time of 56 minutes, 41 seconds at a road race in Barcelona, smashing the previous record of 57:30 by Ethiopian distance runner Yomif Kejelcha last year in the Spanish city of Valencia. 

“I’m so grateful. I’m very excited about what I did today. I didn’t expect to break the record because I just came here… All I do is (try) to run a good race, but I am happy I have broken the world record,” said Jacob Kiplimo.

World Athletics said it was the greatest single improvement on the men’s half-marathon record, and that Kiplimo benefited from ideal weather conditions of 13 degrees Celsius with no wind. 

Kiplimo won a bronze medal in 10,000 metres at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.