[4] Yemane made significant progress at the Paris International Marathon in April that year: although he finished in fourth place, he clocked a much improved personal best of 2:06:30.

He stepped back up to the full distance for the Lake Biwa Marathon and won in cold conditions, beating Tomoyuki Sato and Hendrick Ramaala to the finish.

[16] Yemane improved his personal best by a second at the 2012 Dubai Marathon, but his time of 2:06:29 hours brought him only tenth place in the quick race, which saw him beaten by eight other Ethiopians.

[17] He achieved a significantly faster time at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon, winning the event in 2:04:48, just one second ahead of countryman Getu Feleke, and bringing himself up to eighth place on the all-time lists.

[18] The majority of his 2013 season was geared towards preparation for the 2013 World Championships Marathon, where ultimately he fell off the pace and finished in eighth with a time of 2:11:43 hours.