Barcelona Brings Brilliance for Jacob
The sunny streets of Barcelona saw Jacob Kiplimo making history. Not only did he beat Yomif Kejelcha’s previous world record of 57:30, he is also the first person to run under 57 minutes for the distance. The conditions were perfect. Kiplimo set out hard and never let. As a result, he finished 2.02 ahead of the second place Kamworor.
The previous record held by Yomif Kejelcha, was set in October 2024 in Valencia. This eclipsed Kiplimo’s previous best of 57.31. The most recent run shows that there is now no doubt as to who the best half marathoner in the world is. Moreover, the pace and splits of the record are absolutely stunning. An average pace of 2:41/km for 21.1km. Just amazing.
The opening 5km of both Kejelcha and Kiplimo’s runs sat at 13:38 but from there, Kiplimo just kept pushing and pushing. Overall, his fastest 5km split came in at 12:57 which is utterly mind-blowing at any time but especially when it comes between km 10 – 15 of a half marathon. On the other hand, his slowest 5km was the opening of the race, which as above, was a rather pedestrian 13:38. He closed the race with 13:23 and an overall average speed of 22.35km/h.
As an aside, he also set a world best for the 15km distance during the run. That mark now stands at 40.07. What a great day for running both with perfect conditions and an amazing outcome. With such a slew of records broken in the first couple of months of the year, what kind of times will we be seeing when everyone is in full flow? A sub 2 hour marathon? An even faster mark for the women? The mind boggles at the possibilities. Keep your eyes on Meta Endurance across the internet to watch the records tumble.
