Jacob Kiplimo Just Broke the Half Marathon World Record in Lisbon
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo set the half marathon world record, winning the Lisbon Half Marathon in 57:31 on Sunday, November 21.
Kiplimo broke the previous record of 57:32, set by Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie at the 2020 Valencia Half Marathon.
Jacob Kiplimo continued his breakout season by lowering the world record in the half marathon. On Sunday, the Olympic bronze medalist from Uganda won the Lisbon Half Marathon in 57:31, improving on the previous world record of 57:32, set by Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie at the Valencia Half Marathon in December 2020.
Kiplimo raced a mostly solo effort, breaking away from the competition just after 3K. With the rest of the field far behind the cross-country world champion, he blazed through 10K in 27:05 and 15K in 40:27, the fastest time ever recorded for the distance, according to World Athletics.
Kiplimo slowed down slightly in the later stages of the race, but he held on just enough to dip under the record, pending ratification procedures. Behind Kiplimo, Esa Huseyidin Mohamed of Ethiopia finished second in 59:39, just ahead of Beyata Dibaba who placed third with the same time.
“With one kilometre to go, I knew that I was going to break the world record,” Kiplimo told World Athletics after the race. “When I was on the final straight and saw the clock, I gave it all I had and told myself I had to sprint fast to reach the finish line.”
In the women’s race, Tsehay Gemechu of Ethiopia broke the course record by clocking 1:06:06, improving on the time by 28 seconds.
For Kiplimo, the world record builds on his successful track season. In his second appearance at the Olympics, the 21-year-old finished third in the 10,000 metres and fifth in the 5,000 metres at the Tokyo Games. Also, last year, Kiplimo beat Kandie to win the World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland.
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