Malta’s Dillon Cassar secures MQS for European Championships
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo became the first person to break the 57-minute barrier for the half-marathon as he set a stunning new world record of 56 minutes 42 seconds in Barcelona on Sunday.
The 24-year-old two-time world cross-country champion, who held the half-marathon record between 2021 and 2024, reclaimed the record by slashing 48sec off the previous record of 57:30, set by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in Valencia in October.
It is the greatest single improvement on the men’s world half marathon record.
Racing in ideal weather conditions of 13 degrees celsius (55 degrees fahrenheit) with no wind, Kiplimo also set a world best of 39:47 for 15km en route to the half marathon record.
“I am very excited about what I did today,” said Kiplimo, who made his Olympic debut in the 5,000m in Rio when he was just 15.
“I started strong, I wanted to have a great race, but I didn’t expect to break the world record.
“As the kilometres passed and I saw that I was going at record pace, I told myself that I had to maintain that pace no matter what it took.”
The Barcelona half marathon marked an important moment for Maltese representative Dillon Cassar who crossed the line in an official time of 65.57.
Cassar placed 69th overall, out of 30,000 runners, securing a Minimum Qualification Standard for April’s European Road Running Championships in Brussels.
The 65.57 finish time places Cassar in second place of Malta’s best half marathon records, behind Jordan Gusman’s 63.41 in 2023.
Balkan Championships duties
Meanwhile, sprinter Thea Parnis Coleiro and middle-distance runner Isaac Bonnici represented Malta in the annual Balkan Championships over the weekend.
Bonnici clocked his 800m run in 1:55.55, finishing third in his four-man final.
On the other hand, Parnis Coleiro finished her 60m heat in sixth place in 7.80s.