On February 16, 2025, in the half – marathon held in Barcelona, Spain, 24 – year – old Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda broke the men’s half – marathon world record with a time of 56 minutes and 41 seconds. He became the first male half – marathon runner in history to finish the race in under 57 minutes.
The previous record was 57 minutes and 30 seconds, set by Ethiopian long – distance runner Yomif Kejelcha in Valencia, Spain last year. Kiplimo significantly improved the record by 49 seconds, becoming the first person ever to complete a half – marathon in under 57 minutes and pushing the human half – marathon time into the sub – 56 – minute era for the first time. After official review by the World Record Certification Agency (WRCA), his achievement was recognized as the “fastest time to complete a half marathon (male)” and was entered into the WRCA World Records global database.
