Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo made history by becoming the first person to complete a half marathon in under 57 minutes, smashing the world record by an impressive 48 seconds in Barcelona.

The 24-year-old clocked an astonishing 56 minutes and 42 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 57:30 set by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in Valencia last October. His achievement marks the most significant single improvement in the men’s half-marathon world record.

“I’m incredibly thrilled with today’s performance,” said Kiplimo, a former Olympic and World Championships bronze medallist in the 10,000m event.

“I aimed for a strong race, but I didn’t anticipate breaking the world record. I started aggressively in the first two kilometres to distance myself from my competitors. As I realized I was maintaining a record-breaking pace, I told myself to keep pushing no matter what.”

During the World Athletics event, held in ideal conditions of 13ºC with no wind, Kiplimo also set a world-best time of 39:47 for 15km.

His compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor secured second place with a time of 58:44, while Kenya’s Samuel Mailu finished third in 59:40.