BARCELONA, SPAIN, February 16 — Jacob Kiplimo stunned himself and the running world when he ran a masterful 56:42 World Record in the 2025 Barcelona Half Marathon.
“It was the perfect race,” exclaimed the 24-year-old Ugandan. “Ideal temperature, no wind at all, fantastic circuit. Everything went better than expected, but I never imagined to perform under the 57-minute barrier, that’s astonishing.”
Even in the age of super shoes, the 48-second WR improvement is also astonishing in an event that had seen consecutive 1-second records after Kiplimo ran 57:31 for his first WR in Lisbon ’21, one second faster than Kibiwott Kandie’s 57:32. Last year Kiplimo saw his own record bettered by a second when Yomif Kejelcha ran 57:30 in Valencia.
While reclaiming the WR might have been on Kiplimo’s mind, this record run seemed far from scripted with only one pacer, 19-year-old Japan-based Kenyan Edwin Kimonsong, tasked with setting a 2:45 K opening tempo.
The young Kenyan did a good job leading Kiplimo and the Kenyan duo of Samwel Mailu and former World Record holder Geoffrey Kamworwor through 2:44 and 2:43 kilometers, passing 2K in 5:27 — a 57:29 WR clip.
Half a kilometer later, Kiplimo took a couple quick looks at his watch, then took off, just 7:15 into the race. In an instant he was gone, racing 20 meters ahead of his rivals with the desperate Kimonsong sprinting in vain to catch the streaking Ugandan.
Kiplimo acknowledged, “The pacemaker set the agreed 2:45 pace but I found myself full of energy and decided to inject a brisker rhythm from the third kilometer.”
Brisk indeed, as Kiplimo maintained the 2:42 K pace up the hill, and passing 5K in 13:34 (57:15 pace), and then really opened it up as he headed downhill back towards the city center.
Kiplimo rattled off a string of sub 2:40 Ks lifting the pace so high that it might put the much batted-about record out of reach. Splitting 13:12 for the second 5K segment, Kiplimo sped across the 10K mat in 26:46, a whopping 56:28 pace.
Kiplimo flew down the road, his elbows held a bit wide, steadying his rose clad frame and dictating an unwavering stride, with his feet but a blur.
With only the red clock car to chase, it got even faster as Kiplimo maintained the 2:40 clip to split 13:21 for the third 5K segment. Kiplimo crossed 15K in 40:07 — down to 56:25 pace, and well ahead of his own 40:42 world best run last November over the aptly named Seven Hills route in Nijmegen.
Inevitably, Kiplimo lost a bit of speed navigating a series of tight turns on the run-in. Slowing was relative as he cruised a 13:35 fourth 5K split to pass 20K in 53:42 and netting a nifty 26:56 second 10K.
Lengthening his stride over the final kilometer, Kiplimo exhibited a bit of effort as he sprinted across the line, then collapsed on the ground, overwhelmed by joy and fatigue. Even in the age of super shoes plus Maurten miracles, 56:42 is an amazing time.
(*=supplement manufacturer Maurten’s Bicarb product is now in wide use, legally, to buffer lactic acid, and purportedly counter fatigue during intense exercise)
Kiplimo has found success on the roads that matches his stellar World Cross achievements that include Senior titles in 2023 and 2024, a 2nd-place finish behind fellow Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei in 2019, and a memorable U20 win on his home course in Kampala in 2017.
He has really only dabbled in the half, contesting just 8 races in the 6 years since his 61:53 high-altitude debut in Kampala. He has made good on his opportunities, dominating the all-time list with five of history’s 17 fastest times, and a 58:49 world title win in 2020.
After an 8th-place finish in the Paris 10,000, Kiplimo took to the roads for a series of four fast races culminating in his 56:42 romp. He has said, “I won’t compete any more until my marathon debut in London on 27 April.”
Kiplimo heads to London with an impeccable record over 21K, a stride made for the roads and a PR exactly 2 minutes faster than that of the marathon WR holder, the late Kelvin Kiptum.
BARCELONA HALF
1. Jacob Kiplimo (Uga) 56:42 WR (old WR 57:30 Yomif Kejelcha [Eth] ’24) (13:34, 13:12 [26:46], 13:21 [40:07], 13:35 [53:42], 3:00);
2. Geoffrey Kamworor (Ken) 58:44; 3. Samwel Mailu (Ken) 59:40; 4. Yemaneberhan Crippa (Ita) 59:52; 5. Benard Kibet (Ken) 60:01 PR.
BARCELONA WOMEN
1. Joyciline Jepkosgei (Ken) 64:13 PR (7, 7 W);
2. Gladys Chepkurui (Ken) 66:25; 3. Zerihun Alemtsehay (Eth) 68:19; 4. Addise Cheklu (Eth) 68:26 PR. ◻︎
