24-year-old Ugandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo broke the half marathon world record on Sunday with a time of 56 minutes and 41 seconds.
With this achievement, he surpassed Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha’s world record of 57:30, which was set last October in Valencia. Kiplimo’s performance was recorded as the greatest single improvement on the men’s half marathon world record.
Following his remarkable feat, the Ugandan athlete shared his excitement:
“I am very excited about what I did today. I wanted to have a great race, but I didn’t expect to break the world record.”
“I started very strong in the first two kilometres to get away from my rivals. As the kilometres passed and I saw that I was going at record pace, I told myself that I had to maintain that pace no matter what it took.”
Jacob Kiplimo had previously won a bronze medal in the 10,000-meter World Championships. He also completed 15 km in 39 minutes and 47 seconds, setting another world-best time.
In this latest race, Ugandan Geoffrey Kamworor finished second with a time of 58:44, while Kenyan Samuel Mailu secured third place with 59:40.