In a jaw-dropping display of speed and stamina, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo left the running world speechless on Sunday in Barcelona, smashing the half-marathon world record with a mind-blowing time of 56 minutes and 42 seconds at the World Athletics Gold Label road race. The 24-year-old superstar didn’t just nudge the previous mark—he obliterated it, slicing 48 seconds off Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha’s record of 57:30, set just months before. It was a performance so dominant, so electrifying, that it felt like watching history being rewritten in real time.
The conditions were tailor-made for greatness: a cool 13 degrees Celsius, no wind, and a flat, fast course that begged for records to fall. Kiplimo, already a two-time world cross-country champ and no stranger to breaking barriers, seized the moment from the start. He ditched the pacemakers’ planned 2:45 per kilometer pace early on, his legs churning with a ferocity that left Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor and Samwel Mailu scrambling to keep up. By the 5-kilometer mark, he was flying at 13:34, already on record pace. At 10 kilometers, his 26:46 split was a clear warning: something insane was coming.
As the race unfolded, the Barcelona crowd lost their minds. Kiplimo hit the 15-kilometer mark in 40:07—a new world best—and the energy was palpable. His face, usually a mask of calm, showed a flicker of shock, as if even he couldn’t believe what he was doing. “I had so much energy, I just kept pushing,” he said later, still catching his breath. “But going under 57? That’s crazy.”
When he crossed the line, the roar was deafening. 56:42. The first sub-57 half-marathon in history. He averaged 22.3 kilometers per hour, a pace so brutal it’s hard to fathom. Runners, fans, and analysts were left shaking their heads in disbelief. Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, who also smashed her own personal best in the women’s race that day, called it “incredible” and a huge inspiration.
For Kiplimo, it was redemption and revolution rolled into one. He’d held the record from 2021 to 2024 before losing it, and now he’d reclaimed it with a vengeance. The guy from Kween District, who grew up chasing his athlete brothers through the Ugandan highlands, stood on the podium like a king. “Perfect race, perfect conditions, perfect circuit,” he grinned. “Couldn’t have asked for more.”
