KAMPALA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's star distance runner Jacob Kiplimo will defend his title at the Barcelona Half Marathon in 2026, Uganda Athletics confirmed.

Uganda Athletics President Dominic Otuchet said Kiplimo and compatriot Ezekiel Mutai are set to compete in the race, scheduled for Feb. 15.

Fresh from winning a third consecutive men's senior gold medal at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships earlier this month in Florida, Kiplimo is aiming to extend his record-setting run in Barcelona.

"I can confirm that after running at the World Athletics Cross Country in Florida early this month, Kiplimo has entered for the Barcelona Half Marathon," Otuchet told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Otuchet said Kiplimo's participation is significant because he is the current men's world record holder in the half marathon and set the mark at the Barcelona race last year.

Kiplimo ran 56 minutes, 42 seconds to break the men's half marathon world record in Barcelona in 2025. The women's world record is held by Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey, who clocked 1:02:52 at the Valencia Half Marathon in 2021.

Last year, Kiplimo also won the Chicago Marathon. He remains the youngest Olympian in Uganda's history, having competed at the 2016 Rio Games at age 15, and claimed the under-20 title at the World Cross Country Championships in 2017. ■