Ethiopian Kejelcha Smashes World Indoor Mile Record That Is Older Than Him
4th March 2019
The 21 year-old erased the 3:48.45 standard ran by Moroccan great, Hicham El Guerrouj in February 1997 with a 3:47.01 victory in Boston
- It was third time lucky for Kejelcha, who narrowly missed out on breaking world indoor records in his two previous races
- He finished just 0.01 outside the world indoor mile record at the Millrose Games with a time of 3:48.46, and was then beaten to the world indoor 1,500m record in Birmingham one week later when compatriot Samuel Tefera won in 3:31.04
NEW YORK, United States- Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha crushed the world indoor mile record on Sunday with a time of 3min 47.01sec at the Bruce Lehane Invitational in Boston.
The 21-year-old broke a record that was older than he is -- the mark of 3:48.45 set by Morocco's Hicham El Gerrouj on February 12, 1997.
It was third time lucky for Kejelcha, who narrowly missed out on breaking world indoor records in his two previous races.
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He finished just 0.01 outside the world indoor mile record at the Millrose Games with a time of 3:48.46, and was then beaten to the world indoor 1,500m record in Birmingham one week later when compatriot Samuel Tefera won in 3:31.04.
Kejelcha had set out in Boston to break the indoor world records for both the mile and 1,500m, but his 1500m split was confirmed at 3:31.25 -- third-fastest ever behind Tefera and El Guerrouj.
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