Ugandan long-distance runner and Olympic medalist Jacob Kiplimo has received a major setback. Despite setting a new world record of (56:42) in the men’s half-marathon in Barcelona last year, his achievement won’t be ratified.
The 25-year-old marathon runner from Uganda had clocked a record time of 56:42 at the Barcelona Half Marathon held last year.
Reason why Kiplimo’s record time won’t be ratified
According to multiple media reports, the World Athletics – the apex body of world athletics – has decided to keep Kiplimo’s world record time of 56:42 unratified, which was set nearly a year ago at the Barcelona Half Marathon, held generally in February.
This is because he had an advantage from the lead car ahead, which allegedly helped him shave a few seconds off his time.
Multiple outlets report that Kiplimo had broken the world record by 48 seconds. However, this was achieved through the slipstream of the lead car, which opened up a few meters behind the Ugandan runner.
This not only allowed Kiplimo to run with less air resistance than acceptable, but also shaved off a couple of seconds from the official time.
Such an advantage is not permitted under World Athletics’ rulebook. According to point 6.3 of the regulations as prescribed by World Athletics: “Pace marking by persons not participating in the same race, athletes lapped or about to be lapped, or by any technical device, and the use of any mechanical assistance are not permitted.”
This means that the previous world record of 57 minutes, 30 seconds will once again be the men’s half-marathon world record. It was achieved by Ethiopian runner Yomif Kejelcha, who had clocked this time at the Valencia Half Marathon in 2024.
Notably, this is not the only time Kiplimo has been denied the chance to create history. In 2018, Kiplimo won the San Silvestre Vellecana 10km road race in a record time of 26:41. Still, because the course featured a noticeable downhill section, the Ugandan runner’s time was not ratified as a world record.
