Jacob Kiplimo won the 21K de Buenos Aires

World record holder in the half marathon Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) won convincingly the 21K de Buenos Aires, a World Athletics series race held in the Argentine capital.

The two-time world cross-country champion set a course record of 58:29 min, while Kenyan Veronica Loleo triumphed in the women’s race in 1:06:58 hours.

The men’s race was held in windy conditions and temperatures of around 8°C, with the pack starting at a pace of 2:44 min/km. The first 5km was covered in 13:42 min, with Jacob Kiplimo and Kenyan Emmanuel Wafula following closely behind the pacesetter. Around the 19th minute, Jacob Kiplimo and Emmanuel Wafula overtook the leader, but the Kenyan was only able to maintain Kiplimo’s pace for a few more kilometres.

After building a clear lead at 9km, Jacob Kiplimo cruised through 10km in 27:25 min, nine seconds ahead of Emmanuel Wafula. Pacemaker Bereket Nega Batebo clocked 27:59 min at 10km, leading the Kenyan trio of Vinicent Nyamongo Nyageo, Isaac Kipkemoi and Solomon Kirwa, as well as Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura (28:14 min).

Jacob Kiplimo maintained his relentless pace and covered the next 5km in 13:38 min, reaching 15km in 41:03 min. At that point, the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist already had a 55-second lead over Emmanuel Wafula.

Despite a challenging wind in the final metres, Jacob Kiplimo managed to improve the course record by 36 seconds, winning in 58:29. Emmanuel Wafula, whose pace had slowed, was overtaken by his pursuers with just over a kilometer to go. Seifu Tura prevailed in the sprint against Nyamongo, with both athletes finishing under 60 minutes.

“I felt great the whole time, but the wind got in the way. My main goal today was just to enjoy the experience and I did. As a Lionel Messi fan, I couldn’t wait to get to Buenos Aires. My preparation for the Chicago Marathon is going really well. I heard there will be a world record pace there; I plan to run more conservatively, but I would like to be close to the world record in the end”, said Jacob Kiplimo, who holds three of the five fastest times in history over the distance, including his world record of 56:42 min set in February in Barcelona.

In the women’s race, World Half Marathon Championship bronze medalist Catherine Amanang’ole, her compatriot Veronica Loleo and Ethiopian Ftaw Zeray covered the first 5km at a fast pace of 15:17 min, but the pace dropped before the 10km, reached in 31:18 min.

Veronica Loleo held on to win in 1:06:58 hours ahead of Ftaw Zeray (1:07:07 hours) and Catherine Amanang’ole.