.jpg) Yomif in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa |
| Born | (1997-08-01)1 August 1997 (age 28) |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] |
| Weight | 58 kg (128 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Long-distance running |
| Club | Oromia Construction & Engineering Corporation Athletics Club[3] |
| Team | Adidas |
| Coached by | Tim Rowberry (Nike Oregon Project) Nigatu Worku (personal)[4] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests |
|
Medal record | |
| Updated on 2024 | |
Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (born 1 August 1997)[5] is an Ethiopiandistance runner. He formerly held world records in the short trackmile (3:47.01 from 2019 to 2025) and thehalf marathon (57:30 from 2024 to 2025).
Yomif won the silver medal in the10,000 metres at the2019 World Athletics Championships and gold medals for the3000 metres at the2016 and2018 World Indoor Championships. He was the2013 World Youth 3000 m champion and2014 World Junior5000 m gold medallist.
Yomif was born on 1 August 1997 inShowa,Oromia, Ethiopia.[6] His father is Kejelcha Atoma, and his mother is Biritu Negese. He is the fifth of nine children.[7]
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.[7]
Yomif joined the Burayu Kenema Club, and moved to the outskirts of Addis Ababa to train.[7]
Yomif made his international debut at the2013 World Youth Championships inDonetsk, winning gold in the boys'3000 metres with a time of 7:53.56.[8][9]
In June, he placed second over 3000 m in 7:36.28 at theOstrava Golden Spike elite meeting, losing only to Kenya'sCaleb Ndiku; he defeated 2008 Olympic medallistNick Willis and former world championBernard Lagat.[8][10] Yomif won the5000 metres at theWorld Junior Championships held in July inEugene, Oregon that year, running 13:25.19. He also won gold in the 3000 m at theYouth Olympic Games inNanjing later that summer.[8] He finished 2014 as the worldyouth leader at both the 3000 and 5000 metres, and worldjunior leader at 3000 metres.[8]
Yomif opened his 2015 season at theAfrican Junior Championships inAddis Ababa, winning the 5000 m in a time of 14:31.03.[8][11] He made hisIAAF Diamond League debut inDoha, placing fifth in the 3000 m. He then won a non-Diamond Race 5000 m event at thePrefontaine Classic in Eugene, improving his personal best to 13:10.54 and outkickingEdwin Soi andGalen Rupp.[12] Yomif scored his first Diamond League victory the following week at theGolden Gala inRome, winning 5000 m in a world-leading 12:58.39 and breaking 13 minutes for the first time.[8][13] On 11 September, Yomif competed in the event at theBrussels Diamond League, setting a new personal best and world-leading time of 12:53.98.[14]
He started 2016 by winning the gold in the 3000 metres at theWorld Indoor Championships inPortland, Oregon. On 27 August, Yomif won the event at theDiamond LeagueParis meet in a new world U20 record of 7:28.19.
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.[15] On 31 August, he placed third in the 5000 m at theDiamond League Brussels Final. He ran a personal best of 12:46.79, making him the seventh-fastest runner ever in the event.
Yomif came within a hundredth of a second ofHicham El Guerrouj's world indoormile record on 9 February at theMillrose Games.[16] 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.[17] On 3 March, Yomif broke thisrecord with a time of 3:47.01, slicing 1.44 seconds off El Guerrouj's mark set in 1997 (this record was later broken byYared Nuguse of the United States in February 2025, running 3:46.63). He came short of the1500 metres world indoor record with his 3:31.25 split en route, making him the third-fastest indoor performer in history. He was paced byErik Sowinski,Christian Harrison, and Harun Abda.[18]
Yomif won the silver medal for the10,000 metres at the2019 World Athletics Championships held inDoha, Qatar, finished eighth in the event at the delayed2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and placed also eighth in the 5000 m at the2022 World Athletics Championships inEugene, Oregon.[5]
Yomif was a member of theNike Oregon Project from 2018 to 2019, where he trained alongsideGalen Rupp andSifan Hassan.[7]
On 19 March, he missedBerihu Aregawi's5 kilometres world record of 12:49 by just one second inLille, France to move up to second on the world all-time list.[19]
On 2 June, at theGolden Gala meeting inFlorence, Yomif narrowly finished second toMohamed 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 theBislett Games inOslo in a time of 12:41.73, the fifth-fastest time in 5000 metre history. Finishing second to Yomif wasJacob 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).[20]
At the end of the 2023 outdoor season, on 17 September, Yomif competed in the 3000 metres at the Diamond League Final (Prefontaine Classic) inEugene, Oregon. He finished second toJakob Ingebrigtsen, in a time of 7:23.64, losing by only one hundredth of a second.[21] 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, andDaniel Komen's world record of 7:20.67.[22]
On 30 May, Yomif contested the5000 metres at theOslo Diamond League, finishing second to compatriotHagos Gebrhiwet. Hagos ran 12:36.73 to become the second fastest man in history at the 5000 metre distance, behindJoshua 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, behindKenenisa Bekele (12:37.35), Hagos, and Cheptegei.[23]
After exchanging leads with his teammates for most of the race, Yomif finished sixth in the 2024 Olympic 10,000 m.[24]
On 27 October, in the2024 Valencia Half Marathon, Yomif set a newhalf marathon world record of 57:30, breakingJacob Kiplimo's former half marathon world record of 57:31 by one second.[25] In 2025, Kiplimo broke Yomif's record by 48 seconds, running 56:42.[26]
Yomif married Yadu Birhanu Biru in 2022. Yomif is an avid fan of the English Premier League football team Chelsea.[7]
Yomif's running hero is compatriotKenenisa Bekele, a four time Olympic medalist. He trains daily, running between 120 and 140 kilometres a week. He often trains alongsideTelahun Haile Bekele,Hagos Gebrhiwet andBirhanu Balew.[7]
.jpg)
All information fromWorld Athletics profile.[5]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | World Youth Championships | Donetsk, Ukraine | 1st | 3000 m | 7:53.56 |
| 2014 | African Youth Games | Gaborone, Botswana | 1st | 3000 m | 7:56.51 |
| World Junior Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 1st | 5000 m | 13:25.19 | |
| Youth Olympic Games | Nanjing, China | 1st | 3000 m | 7:56.20 | |
| 2015 | African Junior Championships | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 1st | 5000 m | 14:31.03 |
| World Championships | Beijing, China | 4th | 5000 m | 13:52.43 | |
| 2016 | World Indoor Championships | Portland, OR, United States | 1st | 3000 m | 7:57.21 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 4th | 5000 m | 13:33.51 |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 3000 m | 8:14.41 |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 2nd | 10,000 m | 26:49.34 |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 8th | 10,000 m | 27:52.03 |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 8th | 5000 m | 13:12.09 |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 5th | 5000 m | 13:12.51 |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 6th | 10,000 m | 26:44.02 |
| 2025 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 10,000 m | 28:55.83 |
| Category | Event | Time | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor Track | 1500 m | 3:31.25 | Boston | 3 March 2019 | |
| Mile | 3:58.24 | Stanford | 30 June 2019 | [28] | |
| 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 |
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Men's Mile World Indoor Record Holder 3 March 2019 – | Succeeded by Incumbent |
World U20 Champions in men's5000 metres | |
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