Yalemzerf Yehualaw Densa (born 3 August 1999) is an Ethiopian

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

. She won the 2022 London Marathon. Yehualaw is the current

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder in the 10 kilometres road race, sits second on the world all-time list at the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

and tenth on the respective world all-time list for the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. Yehualaw recorded the then-fastest ever women's marathon debut at the time at the 2022

Hamburg Marathon The Hamburg Marathon () is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of held in Hamburg, Germany. In 2009, 13,938 participants were counted. The marathon is categorized as a IAAF Road Race Label Events, Gold Label Road Race by World A ...

Early life and background

Yalemzerf Yehualaw was born the eldest of six siblings in

Finote Selam Finote Selam (Amharic: ፍኖተ ሰላም) is a town and separate Districts of Ethiopia, woreda in western Ethiopia. Located in the Mirab Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, by road 387 km from Addis Ababa and 176 km from Bahir Dar. By ai ...

in the West Gojjam area of the

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

. Her name means in Amharic 'edge of the world'. She was winning track races at school from the age of 12 and later also youth track titles in her highly-competitive region. With wins on the track,

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

and cross country, she was invited to join the Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

where she currently lives, and then, after four years in 2017, to join the NN Running Team coached by Tessema Abshero.

Career

2019–2021

A 19-year-old Yehualaw made her international debut in April 2019 at the

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Half Marathon in Morocco, where she took victory. The same year, she represented Ethiopia at the

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

held also in Rabat and won the women's half marathon event, breaking Games record in a time of 1:10:26. She also won the

Great Ethiopian Run The Great Ethiopian Run () is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. With 45,000 participants, the race has become the biggest road race in Africa. Overview The competition was first ...

, a 10 kilometres road race in Addis Ababa, setting a new course record of 31:55. She earned the bronze medal in the women's half marathon at the postponed 2020 World Half Marathon Championships held in

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

, Poland, just three seconds behind gold medallist Peres Jepchirchir. A month later in November, Yehualaw competed at the

Delhi Half Marathon Delhi Half Marathon, currently branded as the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is ...

in India where she faced a world-class field. In most impressive performance of her career up to that point, she won the race in a time of 1:04:46, the second-fastest women's time ever recorded for the distance, beating world record-holder

Ababel Yeshaneh Ababel Yeshaneh Birhane (born 22 July 1991) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in track, road and cross country events. She represented her country in the 10,000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, coming ninth, a ...

and 2019 World marathon champion

Ruth Chepng'etich Ruth Chepng'etich (often spelled Ruth Chepngetich, born 8 August 1994) is a Kenyan road runner who is the current women's world record holder in the marathon, with a time of 2:09:56 set at the 2024 Chicago Marathon. She is the 2019 world cham ...

. In August 2021, Yehualaw competed in the

Antrim Coast Half Marathon Antrim Coast Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every August in Larne, Northern Ireland. It is one of two half marathons within UK & Ireland which carries World Athletics 'Elite' Label Road Race ...

in Northern Ireland setting a new world record time of 63m 44s, the first women's mark under 64 minutes not ratified because the course was 54 metres short. She ran legal 63m 51s in October at the Valencia Half Marathon thus securing second mark on the world all-time list behind team-mate Letesenbet Gidey, who set a world record in this race.

2022: World 10 km record and London Marathon win

In January, after having to withdraw from the Valencia 10 km two weeks earlier, Yehualaw bettered her own course record at the Great Ethiopian Run with a time of 31:17, the fastest 10 km ever recorded at altitude. On 27 February, she ran again 10 kilometres and set a new world record in the women's event in Castellón, Spain, slicing 24 seconds off the still-unratified mark held by Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne since 2021, with a clocking of 29 minutes 14 seconds. At the time Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei held the ratified record of 29:43, set in 2017. Only two women ever had run faster over the distance on the track. She covered the first 5 km in 14:28 – just nine seconds slower than the world record for this distance. In April, in her anticipated first marathon, Yehualaw achieved the fastest ever women's marathon debut of 2:17:23 at the

, breaking the Ethiopian record, German all-comers' record, and putting her sixth on the world all-time list. She won by almost nine minutes (around three kilometres) in windy conditions. The 23-year-old successfully defended her

title in August, setting the UK all-comers' record with her joint fifth-fastest ever time of 64m 22s. On 2 October, Yehualaw took her first victory at a World Marathon Major at the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

, becoming the youngest ever female winner of the London event. She clocked 2:17:26, only three seconds outside her personal best, after she fell over with about 10 km to go. She then soon broke clear of Joyciline Jepkosgei in second, with 24th mile in a quick 4:43 according to initial reports the fastest split in women's marathon history. Her finishing time was the third-fastest women's mark in the London event history, behind only the world records set by

Paula Radcliffe Paula Jane Radcliffe Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a British former long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 200 ...

(2:15:25) and

Mary Keitany Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (born 18 January 1982) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. She was the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she ...

(2:17:01, women-only).

2023–present

Chasing her own world 10 km record in windy conditions at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja in January, Yehualaw missed it by 5 seconds to set a course record of 29:19, the second-fastest ever female performance in the event. She finished fifth in her second appearance at the

in April in 2:18:53. Yehualaw finished third in the

2025 Boston Marathon The 2025 Boston Marathon was the 129th official edition of the Boston Marathon, annual marathon race in Boston, Massachusetts, held on Monday, . It was a World Athletics Label Road Races, Platinum Label marathon, one of seven World Marathon Ma ...

, in a time of 2:18:06.

Personal bests

Achievements

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yehualaw, Yalemzerf 1999 births Living people Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners African Games gold medalists for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games African Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Sportspeople from Amhara Region 21st-century Ethiopian sportswomen London Marathon female winners People from Finote Selam