Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha has reclaimed the men’s half marathon world record after clocking an astonishing 56 minutes 51 seconds at a World Athletics road race in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
The 29-year-old shattered the previous record by 29 seconds, subject to official ratification by World Athletics.
Kejelcha had previously held the record with a time of 57:30, set in Valencia in October 2024, before Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo lowered it to 57:20 in Lisbon in March.
Kejelcha has now produced a remarkable comeback, slicing 29 seconds off Kiplimo’s mark to reclaim the world record.
The 10,000m world silver medallist also holds the men’s world record for the 10,000m road race, further cementing his status as one of the world’s leading long-distance runners.
Earlier this year, Kejelcha came close to becoming one of the first men to run a marathon under two hours in record-eligible conditions when he finished second at the London Marathon.
Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe won that race in a record 1:59:30, finishing just 11 seconds ahead of Kejelcha.
Kejelcha’s latest feat in Buenos Aires adds another major achievement to his growing list of distance-running records.
