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Athletics world records are dropping like flies. Only, to qualify the simile, the reason why the flies dropped en-masse was due to a change in their environment. While the simile was coined in 1902 about a house fire, the analogy fits, people were dropping like flies due to exposure to smoke. This time it is athletics records that are falling. It’s February and a number of indoor (short track) records fell recently and now the half marathon.

To quote Marvin Gaye, “What’s going on?”

Jacob Kiplimo’s performance

Ugandan athlete, Jacob Kiplimo, broke the world record in the half-marathon at the 2025 eDreams Mitja Marató de Barcelona by Brooks on Sunday, February 16. It was a performance beyond jaw-dropping, (insert fly-dropping grammatical device, here) as he ran to a 56:42 performance. The previous course record was set in 2023 at 58:53. The Barcelona course has many turns, which slow athletes down not speed them up. That alone should add several seconds to the race result over a course such as the Valencia Half Marathon.

Of course, Kiplimo won the race and, in so doing, bettered the former half-marathon world record of 57:30 by 48 seconds.

He split 26:13 split from 5-15km. In all fairness, this portion of the course includes some downhill running. Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto holds the current world record over 10km at 26:24. The 10,000m is 26:11 by Joshua Cheptegei.

There are no superlatives worthy of describing how fast this run was. However, in comparison, Kenyan Ruth Chepn’getich’s marathon world record of 2:09:56 is rated at 1312 World Athletics points. Kiplimo’s run is rated at 1324, it is apparently far better. But when Chepn’getich set the time at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, the global media lit up in disbelief.

The 24-year-old Ugandan made history as the first athlete to complete the half marathon in under 57 minutes. Kiplimo will be taking on the London Marathon in April. Kelvin Kiptum’s world record of 2:00:35, run in Chicago in 2023 is rated at 1307 points. Unless the Barcelona course is short, this speaks to Kiplimo becoming the first human to run under two hours in the marathon. He should be able to run sub-1:59:00, according to the World Athletics points ranking while comparing performances such as Kiptum’s.

“I am very excited about what I achieved today. I started fast, I wanted to have a great race, but I never expected to break the world record,” Kiplimo said after crossing the finish line near Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona.”

Not expecting to break the world record and doing so by 48 seconds is a red-flag moment as much as Chepn’getich’s marathon world record is. Former international athlete Anne Audain of New Zealand and current Canadian Olympic Rory Linkletter both took to social media to question the performance.

Linkletter posted on X, “I’m having a real hard time with 56 minutes.”

Linkletter is the second-fastest Canadian all-time with his Seville Marathon result of 2:08:01 from one year ago.

Kiplimo added, “I pushed hard in the first two kilometres to break away from my competitors. As the race progressed and I saw that I was on world record pace, I kept telling myself that I had to maintain that rhythm no matter what. Thank you, Barcelona, for the incredible support. I hope to return and continue making history.”

Kiplimo previously set his first world record in Lisbon in November 2021, clocking 57:31. He held the record for three years until Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha surpassed it in October 2024 by just one second.

What is going on?

It is well known that many athletes are enjoying the benefits of Maurten Bicarb. Although the improved results are anecdotal, there are enough records dropping to point to the elixir as a performance enhancer. It shuttles lactate so that the athlete does not experience systemic or local lactate burn and slows down.

The shoes continue to improve. In order to compete on an assumed even playing field, athletes must wear super shoes. The problem is, that athlete response to shoes varies from athlete to athlete, so it is not necessarily an even playing field when it comes to shoes.

While speculation around the Barcelona course may be about a misplaced cone or a short course, the fact is several national, personal and world records have been achieved in January and February on indoor tracks. Those tracks are measured and do not change.

While doping is rife, there is no proof that any of the athletes achieving the recent records are doping. However, where there is smoke, there is fire and where there is smoke, people drop like flies.

Rosa Associati

Frederico Rosa, athlete representative with Rosa Associati is the agency of record for Chepn’getich and Kiplimo.

Rosa may have little or nothing to do with his athletes doping, but they have a history. For example, the infamous Rita Jeptoo of Kenya. Rosa was charged in Kenya with doping offences. He denied six counts against him in court in Nairobi back in 2016.

Jeptoo was caught doping with the blood booster EPO.

The legendary Asbel Kiprop tested positive for EPO as well. As have several more athletes. While there is no proof of doping with Chepn’getich or Kiplimo and Rosa has not been convicted of anything untoward, these performances and the history of Rosa’s athletes need to be examined.

Results

  1. Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) – 56:42 World Record
  2. Josep Solà Benítez – 57:38
  3. Ivan Serrano Hernandez – 57:59
  4. Zulnio Tarakanantyo Yudha – 58:31
  5. Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor –58:44
  6. Daniel Delgado Cañaveral – 58:55
  7. Samwel Nyamai Mailu – 59:40
  8. Yaw Kusi – 59:46
  9. Yeman Crippa – 59:52
  10. Benard Kibet Murkomen – 1:00:01

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