Sports
Shoes, Watch, and Nutrition: Yomif Kejelcha's Gear Choices
Discover the unusual mix of an Amazfit watch, Whoop band, and Adidas super shoe worn by the Ethiopian runner.
Yomif Kejelcha drew attention not only for his elite performance, but also for his technical gear choices on his wrists and feet. From dual-wrist monitoring to Adidas super shoes, explore the athlete's equipment and nutrition setup.
High performance in world athletics involves meticulous details of preparation, technology, and strategy. At the Buenos Aires Half Marathon, Yomif Kejelcha's performance caught the eye of sports enthusiasts due to his unusual equipment choices—combining distinct monitoring technologies on both wrists and an elite racing shoe on his feet.
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An unusual dual-wrist combo: Amazfit and Whoop
One of the race's most intriguing sights was the wearable setup adopted by the Ethiopian distance runner. On his left wrist, Kejelcha wore an Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro, a GPS model with a display designed for real-time tracking of pace, distance, and splits. The brand is widely known for its cost-effectiveness and accessible positioning in the sports smartwatch market.
On his right wrist, however, the athlete opted for the discreet profile of a Whoop MG band. The screenless device avoids visual distractions, focusing exclusively on deep physiological data collection—such as heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and blood oxygen levels.
Wearing two distinct tools simultaneously is common among runners seeking thorough physiological insights without sacrificing direct pace monitoring. Curiously, there are no public sponsorship deals between Kejelcha and either wearable tech brand, pointing to a purely functional choice by his coaching staff.
The mystery of the Adidas super shoe
While Kejelcha went budget-friendly on his wrist, his footwear told a different story. Kejelcha laced up a pair from the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo line, an ultra-high-performance road racing shoe renowned for its featherlight build and $500 retail price tag.
World Athletics has approved three variants under this same product family: the commercial retail version and two prototypes never released to the public. Because the regulations allow any of the approved models and neither the German brand nor the governing body detailed the exact shoe, questions remain over whether the Ethiopian ran in the retail edition or a development prototype.
Nutrition and race dynamics in Buenos Aires
On the nutrition front, the athlete has been using products from Santa Madre, a sports nutrition and energy gel brand preparing to expand into the Brazilian market.
The race in Buenos Aires was also notable for its 500 ml bottle hydration stations every 5 km (at kilometers 5, 10, 15, and 20) and the organizers' use of gun time for official scoring, a criterion that sparked debate among recreational runners in the back corrals across the Argentine capital.
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