Jacob Kiplimo sets new world record at Lisbon Half Marathon

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo broke the world record at the Lisbon Half Marathon, a World Athletics Label road race, on Sunday.

Jacob Kiplimo clocked 57:31s, breaking the previous world record by more than two minutes. The previous world record was set by Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie in Valencia last year.

Jacob Kiplimo, who finished third in the 10,000m and fifth in the 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year, passed through the first 5km in 13:40s, having already dropped the rest of the field.

Jacob had set the world's fastest time for a 10K race in 2021, when he ran 26:33.93s at Ostrava in May 2021.

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At the World Cross Country Championships in 2019, Jacob Kiplimo was key to Uganda's maiden team gold medal as they stunned the Kenyans and Ethiopians. He won the individual silver, behind Joshua Cheptegei's amazing gold medal-winning effort.

Jacob Kiplimo: the best of the pack

At the Lisbon Half Marathon, by the time he reached 10km in 27:05s, Kiplimo had a lead of more than a minute over the rest of the pack and was well on schedule to break Kandie’s world record.

Jacob Kiplimo passed through 15km in 40:27s, the fastest time ever recorded for the distance and it was indicative of a sub-57-minute finish.

With no nearby competitors to work off, Jacob Kiplimo’s pace dropped slightly in the closing stages, but he managed to just finish inside the world record, crossing the line in 57:31s.

Ethiopia’s Esa Huseyidin Mohamed finished second in 59:39s, just ahead of compatriot Gerba Beyata Dibaba, who was given the same time for third place. The top nine men all finished inside 60 minutes.

The women’s race was a close affair as Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu won in 1:06:06s while Kenya’s Daisy Cherotich finished with a time of 1:06:15s. Joyce Chepkemoi finished third after clocking 1:06:19s.