Yomif Kejelcha Sets Half Marathon World Record in Buenos Aires

Kejelcha's 56:51 in Buenos Aires

Yomif Kejelcha ran 56 minutes and 51 seconds at the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aires on Sunday, lowering the world half marathon record by 29 seconds. The Ethiopian's mark at the World Athletics Label road race in Argentina surpasses the previous record of 57:20, set by Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon in March.

The race took place under 6°C conditions with a slight breeze. Ethiopians Tadese Worku (59:20) and Bereket Nega (1:00:20) finished second and third.

"I'm super happy"

Kejelcha told World Athletics he was "over the moon" and "super happy" after the run. "I had planned to run conservatively over the early stages, but I felt good and decided to give it my all," he said, adding that the travel from Ethiopia initially left him tired before he felt "full of beans" on race day. He averaged 2 minutes 42 seconds per kilometer.

Reclaiming a record he previously held

The time returns the world record to Kejelcha, who had previously held it at 57:30 set in Valencia in October 2024. A faster time of 56:42 was recorded by Kiplimo in Barcelona last year, but World Athletics did not ratify that mark because race conditions did not comply with regulations.

Awaiting ratification

Kejelcha's 56:51 is subject to confirmation by World Athletics. If ratified, the mark would replace the 57:20 set in Lisbon earlier this year as the official world record.