Jacob Kiplimo sliced 49 seconds off the world half-marathon record in Barcelona on Sunday (Feb 16) with an incredible 56:41. In such form, he surely has the potential to smash the world marathon record on his debut over 26.2 miles in London this spring.
Racing at the eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona by Brooks, the 24-year-old smashed Yomif Kejelcha’s record of 57:30. En route he also set a world best for 15km of 39:47.
Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya was second in 58:44 ahead of Samuel Mailu of Kenya with 59:40 with Marc Scott the leading Brit with 61:00.
Kiplimo is a former world record-holder for the half-marathon with 57:31 set in Lisbon in 2021. He also won the world half-marathon title in 2020 and world cross-country crowns in 2023 and 2024, whereas on the track his best times are 12:40.96 for 5000m and 26:33.93 for 10,000m.
Yomif Kejelcha (right) and Jacob Kiplimo (Getty)
Ever since Moses Tanui became the first man to break the one-hour barrier in Milan in 1993, the world half-marathon record has continued to tumble.
Haile Gebrselassie became the first man to run inside 59 minutes when he clocked 58:55 in Tempe in 2006. Geoffrey Kamworor came within a second of breaking the 58 minutes in Copenhagen in 2019 but the following year Kibiwott Kandie crashed through the barrier as he stormed to 57:32 in Valencia.
Kiplimo then took a second off that record in 2021 before Kejelcha ran 57:30 in Valencia last October. And now Kiplimo has enjoyed a quantum leap by taking the record well inside 57 minutes.
“I am very excited about what I did today,” said Kiplimo. “I started strong, 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.”
The women’s race was also fast in Barcelona with Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya winning in a course record of 64:13.
The now former world record-holder Kejelcha, meanwhile, was also in action on Sunday with 26:30 for 10km in Castellón to go No.2 on the world all-time rankings.
It has been quite some week for world records with Jakob Ingebrigtsen setting world mile and 1500m indoor marks in Lievin, Yared Nuguse clocking a short-lived mile record in New York and Grant Fisher running 3000m and 5000m records in New York and Boston.
Toshikazu Yamanishi (Mark Shearman)
There was a world record in the men’s 20km race walk, too, with Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi clocking 76:10 in Kobe on Sunday.
Yamanishi, a two-time world champion, improved the previous world record of 76:36 set by fellow Japanese race walker Yusuke Suzuki in Nomi in 2015 by 26 seconds.
» Subscribe to AW magazine here, check out our new podcast here or sign up to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
