“My favourite distance is 5km and half-marathon, but now I think the marathon is the best!”
Congratulations to Sabastian Sawe, the first human animal to finish a marathon competition in less than two hours. One hundred and twenty minutes. 119.5, to be precise. 1:59:30.
I think Yomif Kejelcha, runner-up and, eleven seconds later, second man to break two flat, is the better story.
“We all know he was a standout on the Track; trained hard under Alberto years ago! LONG Career!! I think the Marathon greats of Today ,like Kipchoge have fast twitch muscle fibers, and training on Dirt requires patience (good for Marathoners to be!) and creates strength when one moves to asphalt; and all Yomif s track training/racing and recent Road Race Excellence set him up for a brilliant debut Marathon.” – Bill Rodgers.
Just the idea of breaking two and not being the first….
But I guess he had time to come to grips as he watched Sawe pull away.
Back in the day, never thought two hours would be broken in my lifetime. Of course, never thought I’d live to be 79.
And working real hard to see eighty.
I also did not also anticipate a 3:47 miler in $500 super shoes.
Yomif Kejelcha is 1.85 meters tall and weighs 58 kilograms. I think he looks skinnier. If you are an American, that is 6’1″ and 128. lbs.
To my eye, Yomif runs like the love child of Emil Zatopek and a flamingo in heat. Proof once again there are no style points in running.
Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (Amharic: ዮሚፍ ቀጄልቻ; born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He is the former world record holder in the half marathon (57:30 set in 2024) and the indoor short track mile (3:47.01 set in 2019). He is the second athlete, after Sabastian Sawe, to break two hours in the marathon under race conditions, with a time of 1:59:41.
Yomif won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships and gold medals for the 3000 metres at the 2016 and 2018 World Indoor Championships. He was the 2013 World Youth 3000 m champion and 2014 World Junior 5000 m gold medallist.
Early life
Yomif was born on 1 August 1997 in Showa, Oromia, Ethiopia. His father is Kejelcha Atoma, and his mother is Biritu Negese. He is the fifth of nine children.
Yomif was introduced to the sport of athletics by his friend Abebe Dribsa. Against his father’s wishes, Yomif dropped out of high school in the ninth grade to pursue running, leading to his expulsion from home. Yomif secured school clearance to apply for the police force, and returned home at the suggestion of his mother. Yomif joined the Burayu Kenema Club, and moved to the outskirts of Addis Ababa to train.
Running career
2013
Yomif made his international debut at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Donetsk, winning gold in the boys’ 3000 metres with a time of 7:53.56.
2014
In June, he placed second over 3000 m in 7:36.28 at the Ostrava Golden Spike elite meeting, losing only to Kenya’s Caleb Ndiku; he defeated 2008 Olympic medallist Nick Willis and former world champion Bernard Lagat. Yomif won the 5000 metres at the World Junior Championships held in July in Eugene that year, running 13:25.19. He also won gold in the 3000 m at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing later that summer. He finished 2014 as the world youth leader at both the 3000 and 5000 metres, and world junior leader at 3000 metres.
2015
Yomif opened his 2015 season at the African Junior Championships in Addis Ababa, winning the 5000 m in a time of 14:31.03. He made his IAAF Diamond League debut in Doha, placing fifth in the 3000 m. He then won a non-Diamond Race 5000 m event at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, improving his personal best to 13:10.54 and outkicking Edwin Soi and Galen Rupp. Yomif scored his first Diamond League victory the following week at the Golden Gala in Rome, winning 5000 m in a world-leading 12:58.39 and breaking 13 minutes for the first time. On 11 September, Yomif competed in the event at the Brussels Diamond League, setting a new personal best and world-leading time of 12:53.98.
2016
He started 2016 by winning the gold in the 3000 metres at the World Indoor Championships in Portland. On 27 August, Yomif won the event at the Diamond League Paris meet in a new world U20 record of 7:28.19.
2018
At the European Athletics Outdoor Classic Permit Meeting in Sweden on 18 August, Yomif won the 3000 m with a time of 7:28.00. On 31 August, he placed third in the 5000 m at the Diamond League Brussels Final. He ran a personal best of 12:46.79, making him the seventh-fastest runner ever in the event.
2019
Yomif came within a hundredth of a second of Hicham El Guerrouj’s world indoor mile record on 9 February at the Millrose Games. He ran an Ethiopian national record and a Millrose meet record of 3:48.46, making him second-fastest athlete of all time in the event. On 3 March, Yomif broke this record with a time of 3:47.01, slicing 1.44 seconds off El Guerrouj’s mark set in 1997 (this record was later broken by Yared Nuguse of the United States in February 2025, running 3:46.63). BOUNCY SHOES, BOUNCY TRACK! He came short of the 1500 metres world indoor record with his 3:31.25 split en route, making him the third-fastest indoor performer in history. He was paced by Erik Sowinski, Christian Harrison, and Harun Abda.
Yomif won the silver medal for the 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar, finished eighth in the event at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and placed also eighth in the 5000 m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene.
Yomif was a member of the Nike Oregon Project from 2018 to 2019, where he trained alongside Galen Rupp and Sifan Hassan.
2023
On 19 March, he missed Berihu Aregawi’s 5 kilometres world record of 12:49 by just one second in Lille, France to move up to second on the world all-time list.
On 2 June, at the Golden Gala meeting in Florence, Yomif narrowly finished second to Mohamed Katir over the 5000 metres, in a time of 12:52.12, losing to Katir by only 0.03 seconds. On June 15, Yomif won the 5000 metres at the Bislett Games in Oslo in a time of 12:41.73, the fifth-fastest time in 5000 metre history. Finishing second to Yomif was Jacob Kiplimo, who lost by 0.003 seconds in one of the smallest margins in distance running history (12:41.725 to 12:41.728, making them the joint fifth fastest 5000 metre runners in history at the time).
At the end of the 2023 outdoor season, on 17 September, Yomif competed in the 3000 metres at the Diamond League Final (Prefontaine Classic) in Eugene. He finished second to Jakob Ingebrigtsen, in a time of 7:23.64, losing by only one hundredth of a second. At the time, this was the fourth fastest men’s 3000m performance in history, behind Ingebrigtsen’s 7:23.63, Hicham El Guerrouj’s 7:23.09, and Daniel Komen’s world record of 7:20.67.
2024
On 30 May, Yomif contested the 5000 metres at the Oslo Diamond League, finishing second to compatriot Hagos Gebrhiwet. Hagos ran 12:36.73 to become the second fastest man in history at the 5000 metre distance, behind Joshua Cheptegei’s world record of 12:35.36, while Yomif finished in a time of 12:38.95, becoming the fourth fastest 5000 metre runner in history, behind Kenenisa Bekele (12:37.35), Hagos, and Cheptegei.
After exchanging leads with his teammates for most of the race, Yomif finished sixth in the 2024 Olympic 10,000 m.
On 27 October, in the 2024 Valencia Half Marathon, Yomif set a new half marathon world record of 57:30, breaking Jacob Kiplimo’s former half marathon world record of 57:31 by one second. In 2025, Kiplimo broke Yomif’s record by 48 seconds, running 56:42.
2026
On 26 April, Yomif ran his first ever marathon in the 2026 London Marathon, setting a debut time of 1:59:41, the second fastest in marathon history and the second-ever marathon under two hours under record-eligible conditions. He finished 2nd behind Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30) and ahead of Jacob Kiplimo (2:00:28). All three men finished under Kelvin Kiptum’s previous world record of 2:00:35. He was coached by Ethiopian distance coach Gemedu Dedefo for the race.
Personal life
Yomif married Yadu Birhanu Biru in 2022. Yomif is an avid fan of the English Premier League football team Chelsea.
Yomif’s running hero is compatriot Kenenisa Bekele, a four time Olympic medallist. He trains daily, running between 120 and 140 kilometres a week. [I think somebody might be sandbagging here. – JDW] He often trains alongside Telahun Haile Bekele, Hagos Gebrhiwet and Birhanu Balew.
Source: The Wikipedia. [edited for your enjoyment.]
London Marathon Debut: A Dream Realized by Yomif Kejelcha
I knew that shifting from track to the Marathon would bring big changes in my career, and I’m thrilled to say that the first debut lived up to the expectations. Running sub-2 hours in London felt unthinkable, yet that day arrived, and I fulfilled that dream.
This achievement would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my extraordinary team – my family, Coach and management team, Adidas running. My nutrition partner Santamadre.
A heartfelt thank you to all of you for believing in me and pushing me forward.
Special thanks to the London Marathon race organizers for inviting me to participate.
Now, I’ll take a little time to rest and reset, then I’ll get back to the routine. After that, we’ll see what the future holds and what we can achieve together.
Personal bests
- All statistics from World Athletics Profile unless otherwise noted with a citation.
| Category | Event | Time | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor Track | 1500 m | 3:32.59 | Zagreb | 4 September 2018 | |
| Mile | 3:58.24 | Stanford | 30 June 2019 | ||
| 3000 m | 7:23.64 | Eugene | 17 September 2023 | 5th all time | |
| 5000 m | 12:38.95 | Oslo | 30 May 2024 | 4th all time | |
| 10,000 m | 26:31.01 | Nerja | 14 June 2024 | 7th all time | |
| Indoor Track | 1000 m | 2:18.34 | Seattle | 12 January 2019 | |
| 1500 m | 3:31.25+ | Boston | 3 March 2019 | En route to mile | |
| Mile | 3:47.01 | 4th all time | |||
| 2000 m | 4:57.74 | Metz | 28 February 2014 | WU20B | |
| 3000 m | 7:38.67 | Karlsruhe | 3 February 2018 | ||
| Road | 5 km | 12:50 | Lille | 19 March 2023 | 2nd all time |
| 10 km | 26:37 | Laredo | 16 March 2024 | 3rd all time | |
| Half marathon | 57:30 | Valencia | 27 October 2024 | 2nd all time | |
| Marathon | 1:59:41 | London | 26 April 2026 | 2nd all time and debut record |
When I mentioned the $500 footwear to Benji Durden, a thoughtful man, he had this response.
His nutritional program might be just as important as the Adidas $500 shoes. Here’s the strategy 2 days before the race:
Friday → 500ML Maurten Drink Mix 320
Saturday AM → 500ML de Maurten Drink Mix 320
Saturday PM → 500ML Maurten Drink Mix 320 + Maurten Solid Bar 160
Here’s the strategy on race day:
6:00 AM → tea, honey and two slices of bread
6:45 → Maurten Bicarb System 12
8:00 → 500ML Maurten Drink Mix 320
9:30 → Maurten Gel 100 (5min before departure)
5KM → 160ML of Maurten Drink Mix 320
10KM → 160ML of Maurten Drink Mix 320
15KM → 160ML of Maurten Drink Mix 320
𝟮𝟬𝗞𝗠 → Gel 100 CAF 100 Maurten
25KM → 130ML of Maurten Drink Mix 320
30KM → 130ML of Maurten Drink Mix 320
35KM → 130ML of Maurten Drink Mix 320
40KM → 130ML of Maurten Drink Mix 320
Total: He consumed about 115 grams of carbohydrates per hour during the race.
Those seeking college credit are warned, this will be on the test. Yes. We have come a long way from de-fizzed Coca-Cola.
Old enough to remember when they gave us big pieces of cow to consume before competition. (Recall also a certain reluctance to give us water during the heat. But that’s a different topic.)
Here’s what I am thinking. With this nutritional program and super shoes – tailwind and just the right temperatures, perhaps a hefty wager and a pretty girl with a cold beer at the finish line – I cudda broke 2:30.
XC – it’s neither flash nor far.
A Select Group: Only 48 men have gone sub-4 and sub-2:10
https://bringbackthemile.com/news/detail/select_group_only_20_men_have_gone_sub_4_and_sub_210
But sub-3:50 and sub-2:00?
Not so many.
One.
Yomif Kejelcha.
