Yomif Kejelcha smashes half marathon world record with 56:51 in Buenos Aires
Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha delivered a historic performance at the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aires on Sunday, August 23, breaking the men’s half marathon world record with a stunning time of 56:51.
The Ethiopian made his decisive move early, reportedly breaking away from the leading group near the seventh kilometre. From there, he ran most of the remaining distance alone, turning the race through the streets of the Argentine capital into a solo assault on the world record.
Kejelcha crossed the finish line in an official gun time of 56:51, with his net time recorded at 56:50. His winning margin was almost two and a half minutes as he led an Ethiopian sweep of the men’s podium.
Kejelcha averaged 2:42 per kilometre—or 4:20 per mile—over the 21.1km course to improve the previous world record by 29 seconds. His performance remains subject to the customary World Athletics ratification process.
Tadese Worku Gebresilase finished second in 59:20, while Bereket Nega Batebo secured third place in 1:00:20. Kenya’s Jonathan Kipkoech Kamosong narrowly missed the podium, placing fourth in 1:00:21.
“I’m over the moon,” Kejelcha said following his record-breaking victory.
Kejelcha reclaims the world record
The result returns the half marathon record to Kejelcha, who previously set a world mark of 57:30 at the Valencia Half Marathon in October 2024.
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo ran 56:42 in Barcelona in February 2025, becoming the first athlete to cover the distance in under 57 minutes. However, the performance was not ratified after World Athletics determined that the race conditions did not fully comply with its regulations.
Kiplimo made another record attempt at the Lisbon Half Marathon in March 2026 and clocked 57:20, although that performance was still awaiting ratification when Kejelcha lined up in Buenos Aires.
Kejelcha’s 56:51 was 29 seconds faster than Kiplimo’s Lisbon mark and represented a 39-second improvement on the Ethiopian’s own previous record of 57:30.
Another landmark performance in 2026
The record continues an extraordinary year for Kejelcha. In April, he made his marathon debut at the London Marathon and finished second in 1:59:41, behind Sabastian Sawe’s world record of 1:59:30.
That performance made Kejelcha the second athlete to break two hours for the marathon under record-eligible race conditions. It also represented the fastest marathon debut in history and the second-fastest marathon performance ever recorded.
Now, just four months later, the Ethiopian has reinforced his status as one of the greatest distance runners of his generation by becoming the first athlete to record an eligible sub-57-minute half marathon.
More than 31,500 runners reportedly participated in the 2026 Buenos Aires Half Marathon.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Fotyen Tesfay completed an Ethiopian double by claiming victory in an impressive 1:03:57.
