Ugandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo broke the world record for the half marathon, running the distance in Lisbon in 57:20 minutes.
Kiplimo remained the world record holder in the half marathon from 2021 to 2024. In October 2024, his time of 57:31 was only bettered by Ethiopian Yomif Kejelchi by a second.
Kiplimo set his second career world record where he set his first one – at the Lisbon Half Marathon. This time he ran it in 57:20 minutes – “removing” 10 seconds from the previous historic result!
“I'm very happy to break the world record. After the first 10 kilometers I thought it was possible. I tried to push the pace in the last two kilometers,” Kiplimo was quoted as saying by World Athletics.
In 2025, Kiplimo also claimed the world record with a crushing time of 56:42 minutes. However, his result in the Barcelona Half Marathon was not ratified – at that time his performance did not comply with the World Athletics competition rules.
In the Lisbon Half Marathon, Kiplimo covered the first five kilometers in 13:28 minutes. He ran the 10-kilometer mark in 27 minutes and the 15 kilometers in 40:52 minutes.
At the finish line, the Ugandan was 48 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Kenyan Nicholas Kipkorira (58:08 minutes). The top three were completed by another Kenyan, Gilbert Kipkosgei Kiprotich (58:59).
Kiplimo is one of eight athletes to have run a half marathon in under 58 minutes. His 56:42 officially remains the fastest time in the history of the event, despite the refusal to ratify it as a world record.