(Reuters) – Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha broke the world indoor mile record when he clocked three minutes 47.01 seconds during an invitational meet in Boston on Sunday.
The 21-year-old smashed the 22-year-old record of 3:48.45 set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997.
Kejelcha had come within one hundredth of a second of the record when he clocked 3:48.46 at the Millrose Games in New York last month.
The twice world indoor 3,000 meters champion was also targeting the indoor 1,500m record but narrowly missed it with a 3:31.25.
That made Kejelcha, who is coached by Alberto Salazar, the third-fastest in the event behind compatriot Samuel Tefera’s February world record of 3:31.04 and El Guerrouj’s 3:31.18
Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris