Kiplimo Shatters Half-Marathon World Record in Barcelona

Jacob Kiplimo obliterated the half-marathon world record en route to victory at the eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona, becoming the first man to run under 57 minutes for the event with his 56:42 finishing time.

The two-time cross-country world champion and the bronze medalist at the 2020 Olympic Games in the 10,000 meters, Kiplimo took 48 seconds off the prior record of 57:30, which had been set by Yom Kejelcha this past October.

According to World Athletics, it is the single largest drop in the men’s half marathon world record time ever.

With ideal weather conditions, the field had agreed to an opening few kilometers at 2:45/km (4:25/mile) pace at the technical meeting prior to the event. However, Kiplimo decided to up the pace, taking the lead decisively just eight minutes into the event. He opened a 19 second lead by 5 kilometers, having run 13:34 for that segment. Kiplimo reached 10 kilometers in 26:46, and 15 kilometers in 40:07 — itself a world best time.

Kiplimo, a Nike sponsored athlete, appeared to be wearing AlphaFly 3s for the effort.

Post-race, Kiplimo said that he will not race again until his debut at the marathon distance, coming in April at the London Marathon.

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