Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo set a men’s half-marathon world record Sunday, becoming the first runner to break the 57-minute mark.
The 24-year-old clocked 56 minutes, 41 seconds at a road race in Barcelona, smashing the previous record of 57:30 set by Ethiopian distance runner Yomif Kejelcha last year in Valencia, Spain.
“I’m so grateful. I’m very excited about what I did today. I didn’t expect to break the record because I just came here… All I do is (try) to run a good race, but I am happy I have broken the world record,” Kiplimo said.
World Athletics noted it was the greatest single improvement on the men’s half-marathon record, with Kiplimo benefiting from ideal weather conditions of 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit) and no wind.
Kiplimo previously won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.