Kejelcha breaks men’s half marathon world record by 29 seconds
Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha has reclaimed the men's half marathon world record, clocking 56 minutes 51 seconds to win a World Athletics road race in Buenos Aires. The result restores his status as the fastest man over the distance after Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo had taken the record from him earlier in the year, underlining Kejelcha's status as one of the world's leading distance runners across multiple disciplines.
Kejelcha, 29, had previously held the record with a time of 57:30 set in Valencia in October 2024, before Kiplimo ran 57:20 in Lisbon to seize it in March. His latest run, subject to official ratification, cuts 29 seconds off Kiplimo's mark. He also holds the world record for a men's 10,000m road race and won silver in the 10,000m at the World Championships, while earlier this year he finished second to Kenya's Sebastian Sawe at the London Marathon, running one of the fastest marathon times ever recorded in eligible conditions, just 11 seconds behind Sawe's 1:59:30.
- Kejelcha reclaims half marathon world record in Buenos Aires, running 56:51
- He takes back the record from Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo
- Also holds 10,000m road record and ran near sub-two-hour marathon in London
New here? Start with this
Yomif Kejelcha, a 29-year-old Ethiopian distance runner, has long been ranked among the best in the world across track and road events, including the 10,000m and marathon. Over the past couple of years, the men's half marathon world record has changed hands between Kejelcha and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, with each runner improving on the other's best time in major road races.
The world record for the half marathon, a 21.1km road race, is tracked and later confirmed by World Athletics, the sport's global governing body, and is a key benchmark for judging the world's fastest distance runners. Kejelcha set the mark in Valencia in 2024, before Kiplimo took it over in Lisbon earlier this year, setting up the latest contest between the two for the title of fastest man over the distance.
Beyond the half marathon, Kejelcha has built a broader reputation in distance running, including a road 10,000m world record and a strong recent showing at the London Marathon, where he finished close behind Kenya's Sebastian Sawe. This context matters because it shows the record chase forms part of a wider rivalry among elite distance runners across several disciplines, rather than a one-off event.