The 24-year-old Ugandan ran a blinding 56:42 to reset the mark in the Spanish city.
Blink and you’ll miss him, Jacob Kiplimo seized the win and the new men’s half marathon world record at the 2025 Barcelona Half Marathon in Spain on Sunday (16 February).
Having broken the tape in an astonishing time of 56:42 (pending ratification by World Athletics), the Ugandan chopped a sizeable 48 seconds off the previous world record of 57:30, set by Yomif Kejelcha at the Valencia Half Marathon in October 2024. The greatest-ever single improvement on the men’s world half marathon record, Kiplimo’s result also established him as the first person in history to break 57 minutes for the distance.
To make matters even sweeter, this is the second time that Kiplimo has held the men’s half marathon world record. Before Kejelcha broke it by a single second last year in Valencia, another famously fast running city in Spain, Kiplimo previously ran 57:31 to set the world record for the distance. He clocked this time at the Lisbon Half Marathon in November 2021 – and it stood as the men’s all-time best mark for almost three years.
Kiplimo – who is still only 24 years old – also set the world best time of 39:47 for 15km en route to his new half marathon world record in Barcelona, where no wind and a cool temperature of 13ºC generated ideal running conditions. He finished the race over two minutes ahead of second-place compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor, who covered the course in 58:44, while Kenya’s Samuel Mailu bagged third position in 59:40.
‘I am very excited about what I did today,’ said Kiplimo, following his world record run on Sunday. ‘I wanted to have a great race, but I didn’t expect to break the world record.’
Kiplimo has taken several major titles in the 10,000m, too, including bronze medals in the distance at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. He is also a three-time senior gold medallist at the World Cross Country Championships, having won the individual title in 2024 and 2023 and the team title in 2019.
What’s more, Kiplimo became Uganda’s youngest-ever Olympian when he competed in the 5000m at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Aged only 15, he didn’t progress further than his heat – but he did already have a 5000m PB of 13:19.54 under his belt.
On the women’s side, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei won the 2025 Barcelona Half Marathon in an outstanding time of 64:13, which doubled as a new course record. A former champion of the London Marathon (2021) and New York City Marathon (2019), Jepkosgei is already accustomed to breaking the tape at long distances events.
