Kejelcha breaks men's half marathon world record by 29 seconds

ByCraig Nelson BBC Sport Journalist.

Key points

• 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.
• 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.
• The world track silver medallist in the 10, 000m additionally holds the world record for a men's 10, 000m road race.
• 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.
• Sawe won the record-breaking race in 1: 59: 30, beating Kejelcha by just 11 seconds.

Notably, 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.

Notably, the world track silver medallist in the 10, 000m additionally holds the world record for a men's 10, 000m road race.

He additionally 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.

Taken together, the developments around kejelcha breaks men' s half marathon world record by 29 seconds point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.