On Sunday, Ethiopian long-distance running star Yomif Kejelcha delivered a history-making performance at a World Athletics-sanctioned road racing event in Buenos Aires, shattering the existing men’s half-marathon world record to reclaim the title he briefly lost earlier this year.
The 29-year-old cross the finish line in a blistering 56 minutes and 51 seconds, cutting a full 29 seconds off the previous benchmark set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo back in March. Kiplimo had clocked 57:20 at a race in Lisbon to take the record from Kejelcha, who had first set a world leading mark of 57:30 at the Valencia race in October 2024. Kejelcha’s new record still awaits official ratification from global governing body World Athletics, but the on-course result has already sent ripples through the international distance running community.
This sensational result adds another landmark achievement to Kejelcha’s already decorated athletic resume. A world track championships silver medalist in the 10,000m track event, Kejelcha already holds the world record for the men’s 10,000m road race. Earlier in 2025, he also made global running history as one of the first male athletes to finish a marathon under two hours in record-eligible conditions, taking second place just 11 seconds behind Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe at the London Marathon, where Sawe crossed the line in 1:59:30.