By Chris Chavez
February 16, 2025
Jacob Kiplimo made history at the 2025 eDreams Mitja Marató Barcelona, becoming the first man to break 57 minutes in the half marathon. The Ugandan distance star clocked 56:41, obliterating Yomif Kejelcha’s previous world record by 49 seconds—the biggest single improvement on the men’s world half marathon record in history.
Here’s what you need to know:
56:41 | The new world record for the half marathon.
– Kiplimo became the first person in history to break 57 minutes over 13.1 miles.
49 seconds | The biggest improvement ever on the men’s half marathon world record.
– Kiplimo destroyed Kejelcha’s previous mark of 57:30, set just last fall in Valencia.
4:19.5 per mile | Kiplimo’s insane average pace.
– That’s 2:41 per kilometer for 21.1km.
13:34 | Kiplimo’s opening 5km.
– He immediately put himself on world record pace.
26:46 | Kiplimo’s 10km split.
– At this point, he was already well ahead of world record pace. The second 5K segment was 13:12.
40:07 | Kiplimo’s 15km split.
– Initially recorded as 39:47 before being corrected, this is still a new world best for the distance. As noted by LetsRun’s Jonathan Gault, Kiplimo’s 5K to 15K stretch was clocked at 26:33, which is the same as American record holder Grant Fisher’s 10,000m personal best on the track.
53:42 | Kiplimo’s 20km split.
– He covered his second 10km in the same 26:58 as his first.
What He Said After The Race:
Per World Athletics: "It has been the perfect race. Ideal temperature, no wind at all, fantastic circuit - everything went better than expected. 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, but I never imagined to perform under the 57-minute barrier, that's astonishing. I won't compete anymore until my marathon debut in London on 27 April."
A Historic Moment in Distance Running:
Kiplimo’s world record adds to an unprecedented streak of record-breaking performances in distance running in the past week:
📅 Feb. 8 – Grant Fisher sets 3000m world indoor record (7:22.91)
📅 Feb. 8 – Yared Nuguse sets the world indoor mile record (3:46.63)
📅 Feb. 13 – Jakob Ingebrigtsen smashes Nuguse’s mile world indoor record (3:45.14)
📅 Feb. 14 – Grant Fisher crushes 5000m world indoor record (12:44.09)
📅 Feb. 16 – Jacob Kiplimo destroys half marathon world record (56:41)
What’s Next?
Kiplimo shifts focus to his marathon debut at the London Marathon on April 27.
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile.
