The half marathon world record now begins with a 56. Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda took a whopping 48 seconds off the previous record Sunday morning at the 2025 Barcelona Half Marathon, clocking 56:42 to become the first man to ever break 57 minutes. Afterward, he said he never imagined having the race he did: “That’s astonishing.”

Kiplimo ran with a vengeance in Barcelona on Sunday — beating the previous fastest half marathon time by a whole 48 seconds.

Jacob Kiplimo shattered the half marathon world record with a blistering run on Sunday. The 24-year-old Ugandan was competing in the Barcelona half marathon where he became the first person ever to complete the distance in under 57 minutes,

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo smashed the world half marathon record with a blistering time of 56 minutes and 42 seconds, shaving 48 seconds off the previous record.