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.

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

Kiplimo finished the race with a time of 56:42 and smashed the previous world record by 48 seconds, the biggest ever single improvement on the men’s half marathon world record. Prior to Kiplimo’s incredible run, Ethiopian athlete Yomif Kejelcha held the record with a time of 57:30.