Ethiopian distance-running star Yomif Kejelcha has reclaimed the men’s half-marathon world record after clocking an extraordinary 56 minutes 51 seconds at the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aire. His performance is listed by World Athletics as a world record, subject to the usual ratification procedure. The 29-year-old improved by 29 seconds on the 57:20 run by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon in March 2026. Kiplimo’s Lisbon mark is itself still pending ratification. Kejelcha also improved his own previous ratified world record of 57:30, set in Valencia, by 39 seconds.
Kejelcha started the race behind two pacemakers in favourable conditions, with temperatures around 6°C at the start. He reached 5km in 13:45 and 10km in 27:19, before dramatically increasing the pace in the second half of the race. By 15km, he had reached 40:41, putting himself ahead of world-record pace. He passed 20km in 54:04 and then produced a rapid final kilometre to cross the finish line in 56:51. Kejelcha originally became the official world half-marathon record holder when he ran 57:30 in Valencia. That mark was later ratified by World Athletics.
Jacob Kiplimo subsequently ran 57:20, temporarily moving ahead of Kejelcha, although that performance remains subject to ratification. Kejelcha’s 56:51 in Buenos Aires now gives him the fastest world-record-eligible performance under World Athletics rules. Kiplimo did run even faster—56:42 in Barcelona—but that performance was not eligible for world-record ratification because the race conditions did not fully comply with World Athletics requirements.
Kejelcha finished well clear of the rest of the field. Ethiopian compatriot Tadese Worku took second place in 59:20, while Bereket Nega finished third in 1:00:20, completing an Ethiopian sweep of the men’s podium. The performance adds another remarkable achievement to Kejelcha’s distance-running career. World Athletics currently lists his 56:51 Buenos Aires performance as a pending world record and area record, with the result. With his 56:51 run, Yomif Kejelcha has once again placed himself at the top of men’s half-marathon running, reclaiming a record he previously held and setting a new benchmark for the event.
