Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo breaks half-marathon world record

Ugandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo set a new world record for the half-marathon on Sunday by completing the distance in 57 minutes and 20 seconds in Lisbon, improving by 10 seconds the mark set in 2024 by Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha.

Kiplimo had already broken the world record for the distance in the Portuguese capital in 2021, before Kejelcha lowered it by one second in the Valencia race.

In a race contested without pacemakers, the Ugandan ran the first 5 kilometers in a very fast 13:28, with Kenyans Nicholas Kipkorir and Gilbert Kiprotich closely following his pace.

After covering the 10 kilometers in 27:00, Kiprotich began to lose touch. At the 15-kilometer mark (40:52), Kiplimo launched the final attack and covered the next five kilometers in 13:31, a pace he maintained until he crossed the finish line.

"After the first 10 km I thought the world record was possible. I tried to keep pushing the pace in the last two kilometers," said the new record holder after the race as reported by AFP.

Kipkorir finished second, 48 seconds behind, while Kiprotich came further back in third place.

The Ugandan had already run the distance in 56:42 in Barcelona last year, but World Athletics did not homologate that time, considering that the conditions of the race did not fully comply with the rules of the international federation.

In the women's race, Ethiopia's Tsige Gebreselama retained the title with a time of 1:04:48.