Jacob Kiplimo, Ja’Kobe Tharp and Emmanuel Wanyonyi are the newest group to have their recent world records officially designated as World Athletics announced that all three of their marks were ratified on Thursday.
The records were archived from March to July of this year, with Kiplimo’s 57:20 half-marathon mark coming on March 8 at the Lisbon Half Marathon, even though his time would eventually be bested by Yomif Kejelcha in 56:51 last month in Buenos Aires and is undergoing its own ratification process.
Kiplimo passed through the 10km point in 27:00 and upped his pace as Nicholas Kipkorir stuck with him through 15km in 40:52 but would begin to fade. That gave Kiplimo the extra incentive to surge for the record, which ironically, was set by Kejelcha in Valencia in 57:30 in October 2024.
Meanwhile, Tharp grabbed his own record after soaring to a 12.75 in the men’s 110m hurdles at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon on June 10 for Auburn, hitting the mark in the semifinals. He would later win the title two days later in 12.90.
Wanyonyi shattered the men’s 1,000 record with a 2:11.83 at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco on July 10. In front of a packed crowd at Stade Louis-II in Fontvieille, Wanyonyi launched into an aggressive kick to separate from Jake Wightman, but shifted gears on the final turn and accelerated on the last 100m.
“This was the first time I ran the 1,000m and directly breaking the world record makes me so happy,” Wanyonyi said after breaking the record. “I want to thank the other athletes to push me to my limit. I don’t want to talk about the world record in the 800m. I first want to run fast and improve my personal best. Let me keep quiet, actions speak louder than words.”
The 1,000m record stood for nearly 26 years and Wanyonyi shaved 0.13 off Noah Ngeny’s 2:11.96 mark from September 1999.
