Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian

distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

. He won a silver medal in the men’s 10,000 metres at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...

in Doha, Qatar. On 3 March 2019, Kejelcha broke the indoor mile world record with a time of 3:47.01.

Career

Yomif Kejelcha made his international debut at the 2013 World Youth Championships in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...

, winning gold in the boys'

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

with a time of 7:53.56. At the

Ostrava Golden Spike Golden Spike ( cz, Zlatá tretra) is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interr ...

elite meeting in May 2014 he placed second over 3000 metres in 7:36.28, losing only to Kenya's

Caleb Ndiku Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku (born 9 October 1992 in Machakos) is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Career Born in Machakos, he was the son of a javelin thrower, David Ndiku, but he decided not to follow his father and focused on running ins ...

; he defeated 2008 Olympic medallist

Nick Willis Nicholas Ian Willis (born 25 April 1983) is a New Zealand middle distance runner and the country's only two-time Olympic medalist in the 1500 metres. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Ri ...

and former World Champion

Bernard Lagat Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (born December 12, 1974) is a Kenyan-American middle and long-distance runner. Lagat was born in Kapsabet, Kenya. Prior to his change of domicile to the US, Lagat had an extensive competitive career representing his ...

. Yomif won the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a s ...

at the 2014 World Junior Championships in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

, running 13:25.19; he also won gold, in the 3000 metres, at the

Youth Olympic Games The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consiste ...

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

later that summer. He finished 2014 as the world youth leader at both 3000 and 5000 metres, and world junior leader at 3000 metres. Yomif opened his 2015 season at the African Junior Championships in Addis Ababa, winning the 5000 metres in 14:31.03. He made his

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

debut in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...

, placing fifth in the 3000 m; he then won a non-Diamond Race 5000 m race at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the Universi ...

in Eugene, improving his personal best to 13:10.54 and outkicking

Edwin Soi Edwin Cheruiyot Soi (born 3 March 1986) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the 3000 and 5000 metres. He is a two-time Olympian for Kenya. His earliest honours were team gold medals with Kenya at the IAAF World Cr ...

and

Galen Rupp Galen Rupp (born May 8, 1986) is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000-meter run in London ...

. Yomif scored his first Diamond League victory the following week at the Golden Gala in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, winning in a world-leading 12:58.39 and breaking 13 minutes for the first time. On 11 September 2015 Kejelcha competed in the Diamond League event in Brussels and set a new personal best (and world-leading time for 2015) of 12:53.98 in the 5,000-meter event. He started 2016 by winning the gold in the 3000 metres at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland. On 27 August 2016, Kejelcha won the 3000m at the 2016 Diamond League Paris meet in a new U20 world record of 7:28.19. At the European Athletics Outdoor Classic Permit Meeting in Sweden on 18 August 2018, Kejelcha won the 3000m in 7:28.00. On 31 August 2018, he placed 3rd at the Diamond League Final. He ran 12:46.43, making him the 7th fastest 5000m runner ever. Kejelcha came within a hundredth of a second of

Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj ( ar, هشام الݣروج, Hishām l-Garrūj; ber, ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⴻⵍ ⴳⴻⵔⵔⵓⵊ, Hisham El Gerruj; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record h ...

's indoor mile record on 9 February 2019 at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

. Kejelcha ran an Ethiopian national record and a Millrose meet record 3:48.46, making him second all-time in the indoor mile. On 3 March 2019, Kejelcha broke the Indoor Mile World Record with a time of 3:47.01 an improvement over his previous time of 3:48.46. He came short of the 1500m Indoor World Record with a 3:31.25. He was paced by Erik Sowinski and Harun Abda.

International competitions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kejelcha, Yomif 1997 births Living people Ethiopian male long-distance runners Ethiopian male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists Sportspeople from Oromia Region World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Diamond League winners Youth Olympic gold medalists for Ethiopia Youth Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Ethiopia 21st-century Ethiopian people