Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha breaks men's half marathon world record

BBC News · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · Aug 23, 2026 · 154 words · By Craig Nelson

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What to know about Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha breaks men's half marathon world record

Kejelcha breaks men's half marathon world record by 29 seconds - Published Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha has broken the men's half marathon world record, winning a World Athletics road race in Buenos Aires on Sunday in 56 minutes 51 seconds.

Claims checked 6

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The 29-year-old previously held the record with a time of 57:30, set in Valencia in October 2024, but lost that to Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo in March.

Common ground

Kiplimo ran 57:20 in Lisbon earlier this year but Kejelcha has now knocked 29 seconds off that time to regain the record, subject to official ratification.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha breaks men's half marathon world record?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that lost that to Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo in March. Kiplimo ran 57:20 in Lisbon earlier this year?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/articles/c9989lm0vkro?at_medium=RSS&at_cam…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “lost that to Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo in March. Kiplimo ran 57:20 in Lisbon earlier this year”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and news reports, confirm Jacob Kiplimo set a world record of 57:20 in Lisbon, taking the record from Kejelcha.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The world record in the half marathon has been officially recognized since 1 January 2004 by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics. A total of five men's world r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half_marathon_world_record_pro…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jacob Kiplimo (born 14 November 2000) is a Ugandan long-distance runner and former world record holder in the half marathon. A four-time World Cross Country champion, Kiplimo won the junior race in 20…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Kiplimo

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries World Athletics Elite Label Road Race status. The men's cou…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon_Half_Marathon

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “The 29-year-old previously held the record with a time of 57:30, set in Valencia in October 2024”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that Kejelcha previously held the record with a time of 57:30 set in Valencia in October 2024.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sabastian Kimaru Sawe (born 16 March 1995) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who holds the world record in the marathon. Sawe made his debut at the 2024 Valencia Marathon, winning in 2:02:05. At the 20…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabastian_Sawe

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (Amharic: ዮሚፍ ቀጄልቻ; born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder in the half marathon and 10,000 m road race. Kejelcha is also …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yomif_Kejelcha

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “The world track silver medallist in the 10,000m also holds the world record for a men's 10,000m road race.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and World Athletics profiles confirm Kejelcha is the current world record holder for the 10,000m road race and a multiple World Championships silver medallist.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The two-hour marathon, also referred to as the sub-two-hour marathon, is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the marathon, a distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi), in under two ho…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-hour_marathon

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “Sawe won the record-breaking race in 1:59:30, beating Kejelcha by just 11 seconds.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm Sebastian Sawe won the London Marathon in 1:59:30 and Kejelcha finished 11 seconds later at 1:59:41.

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web search NEUTRAL — Kejelcha is also the former world record holder in the half marathon and the short track mile, and he is the second athlete, after Sabastian Sawe, to break two hours in the marathon in a record-eligib…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yomif_Kejelcha

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web search NEUTRAL — Just 11 seconds further back was Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, who — running in his first-ever marathon — also covered the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course in under 2 hours.
https://barrie360.com/sebastian-sawe-london-marathon26-wr-su…

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web search NEUTRAL — Sebastian Sawe winning in 1:59:30, followed by runner up Yomif Kejelcha 1:59:41!Sebastian Sawe crossed the finish line first, clocking an astonishing time of 1:59:30, while Yomif Kejelcha followed clo…
https://www.tiktok.com/@the_maker_hq1/video/7633160141466029…

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Claim 5: “He also became one of the first men to run a sub-two hour marathon in record-eligible conditions earlier this year when finishing second behind Kenya's Sebastian Sawe in the London Marathon.”

CORROBORATED

Evidence from Wikipedia and web searches confirms Kejelcha finished second in the 2026 London Marathon with a sub-two hour time (1:59:41) behind Sebastian Sawe.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 46th London Marathon took place on 26 April 2026. The race was the third of seven World Major Marathon events and was a platinum label race. The route featured three separate starting points — one…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_London_Marathon

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha has broken the men's half marathon world record, winning a World Athletics road race in Buenos Aires on Sunday in 56 minutes 51 seconds.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm Yomif Kejelcha won the Buenos Aires half marathon on Sunday, August 23, 2026, with a world record time of 56:51. Wikipedia also identifies him as the current world record holder in the half marathon.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Buenos Aires Half Marathon (official name: 21k Buenos Aires), is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance 21.0975 kilometres (13.1094 mi) which takes place in Buenos Aire…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21K_Buenos_Aires

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.