1. Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa was born on 1 August 1997 and is an Ethiopian distance runner.
22 Facts About Yomif Kejelcha
1. 2.
Yomif Kejelcha formerly held world records in the short track mile and the half marathon.
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Yomif Kejelcha was born on 1 August 1997 in Showa, Oromia, Ethiopia.
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Yomif Kejelcha's father is Kejelcha Atoma, and his mother is Biritu Negese.
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Yomif Kejelcha was introduced to the sport of athletics by his friend Abebe Dribsa.
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Against his father's wishes, Yomif Kejelcha dropped out of high school in the ninth grade to pursue running, leading to his expulsion from home.
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Yomif Kejelcha secured school clearance to apply for the police force, and returned home at the suggestion of his mother.
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Yomif Kejelcha joined the Burayu Kenema Club, and moved to the outskirts of Addis Ababa to train.
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Yomif Kejelcha 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.
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Yomif Kejelcha finished 2014 as the world youth leader at both the 3000 and 5000 metres, and world junior leader at 3000 metres.
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Yomif Kejelcha started 2016 by winning the gold in the 3000 metres at the World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon.
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Yomif Kejelcha ran a personal best of 12:46.79, making him the seventh-fastest runner ever in the event.
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Yomif Kejelcha 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.
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On 3 March, Yomif Kejelcha broke this record with a time of 3:47.01, slicing 1.44 seconds off El Guerrouj's mark set in 1997.
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Yomif Kejelcha 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.
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Yomif Kejelcha was paced by Erik Sowinski, Christian Harrison, and Harun Abda.
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Yomif Kejelcha was a member of the Nike Oregon Project from 2018 to 2019, where he trained alongside Galen Rupp and Sifan Hassan.
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Yomif Kejelcha finished second to Jakob Ingebrigtsen, in a time of 7:23.64, losing by only one hundredth of a second.
19.
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 Kejelcha finished in a time of 12:38.95, becoming the fourth fastest 5000 metre runner in history, behind Kenenisa Bekele, Hagos, and Cheptegei.
20.
On 27 October, in the 2024 Valencia Half Marathon, Yomif Kejelcha 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.
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Yomif Kejelcha is an avid fan of the English Premier League football team Chelsea.
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Yomif Kejelcha's running hero is compatriot Kenenisa Bekele, a four time Olympic medalist.