Ugandan Kiplimo smashes men’s half-marathon world record in under 57 minutes

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo set a men’s half-marathon word record on Sunday and also became the first runner to go under 57 minutes.

The 24-year-old Kiplimo set a time of 56 minutes, 41 seconds at a road race in Barcelona, smashing the previous record of 57:30 by Ethiopian distance runner Yomif Kejelcha last year in the Spanish city of Valencia.

World Athletics said it was the greatest single improvement on the men’s half-marathon record, and that Kiplimo benefited from ideal weather conditions of 13 degrees Celsius (55 Fahrenheit) with no wind.

Kiplimo won a bronze medal in 10,000 meters at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.