Jacob Kiplimo breaks world half marathon record. Ugandan runner fastest in history in Lisbon

Jacob Kiplimo regained the world half marathon record in Lisbon and won the race with a time of 57 minutes and 31 seconds, as confirmed by BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, and the French newspaper Le Parisien. This result improved the previous record by one second. According to Reuters, formal recognition of the result still requires standard ratification by World Athletics. The race took place during the half marathon in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. 57:31 — new world record World half marathon record: record holder: Kibiwott Kandie → Jacob Kiplimo; result: 57:32 → 57:31; location: Valencia 2020 → Lisbon 2025 The most important dimension of this performance is that Jacob Kiplimo did not set his first career record, but regained the title of the fastest athlete in the history of the event. Reuters and other sources indicate that the previous record of 57:32 belonged to Kenyan runner Kibiwott Kandie and was set in Valencia in 2020. It is also confirmed that Jacob Kiplimo was already a world record holder in 2021, before his time was improved. This means the Ugandan runner has returned to the top of the historical tables after several seasons of competition at the highest level. In recent years, the half marathon has become one of the fastest-growing road events. World records there have been shifting not by tens of seconds, but by single seconds, showing how even and technically refined the modern elite of long-distance running is. From this perspective, regaining the record by the same athlete after several years has particular sporting significance. [{"dataISO":"2020-12-01","data":"2020","tytul":"Record in Valencia","opis":"Kibiwott Kandie set the world record of 57:32."},{"dataISO":"2021-01-01","data":"2021","tytul":"Kiplimo's previous record","opis":"Jacob Kiplimo was the world record holder in the half marathon."},{"dataISO":"2025-01-01","data":"2025","tytul":"Race in Lisbon","opis":"Jacob Kiplimo won and regained the record with a time of 57:31."}] The margin of improvement over the previous record was minimal, but the significance of the result remains great, because in long-distance running, one second at this level determines a place in history. Articles consistently describe the performance as regaining the record, not merely winning a prestigious road race. This is an important distinction for the world record, because the result from Lisbon immediately placed Jacob Kiplimo at the center of the long-distance running season. According to Reuters, the result is still subject to the ratification procedure, but the time and location of the race are confirmed. The last two record-breaking half marathon results: Kibiwott Kandie, 57:32; Jacob Kiplimo, 57:31 It was not possible to safely confirm the exact wording of the athlete's statement after the race, so I am not attributing an unverified quote to him. However, the available information clearly shows that the 23-year-old Ugandan used the Lisbon race to return to the top of the world rankings. „Uganda's Kiplimo regains world half marathon record in Lisbon” — Reuters „Jacob Kiplimo regains the world half-marathon record in Lisbon” — BBC Sport Portugal and Uganda therefore remain the key countries of this event, with Kenya also appearing in the background as the country of the previous record holder, and Spain, because the earlier best result was set in Valencia.