Azmeraw Bekele
Azmeraw Bekele Molalign, 2014 | ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing Ethiopia | ||
Men's athletics | ||
All-Africa Games | ||
2011 Maputo | 10,000 m |
Azmeraw Bekele Molalign (born 22 January 1986) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in road running and cross country running competitions.
Biography[]
He first came to prominence in 2010, which began with a successful cross country season. Representing the Federal Prisons team, he won at the ,[1] set a race record of 1:00:57 hours at the .[2] and then took a surprise victory at the Jan Meda Cross Country, which served as the national selection event for the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.[3] At the world event he finished in 21st position, helping the Ethiopian men's team (including Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Abera Kuma and Hunegnaw Mesfin) to the bronze medal.[4]
Later that season, he switched his focus to road events and won the Corrida de Langueux 10K in 28:13 minutes (the second-fastest ever on the course).[5] He won the national 30 km championships at the end of October and secured the Great Ethiopian Run 10K title a month later.[6][7] He returned to France the following week and made his marathon debut, finishing as runner-up at the Marathon De La Rochelle with a time of 2:10:25 hours.[8] He began his 2011 season on the roads, just missing out on a win at the City-Pier-City Loop behind compatriot Lelisa Desisa, although he set a personal best time of 59:39 minutes for the half marathon.[9] He was also the runner-up at the Prague Half Marathon three weeks later.[10]
He claimed his first national title on the track at the 40th Ethiopian Athletics Championships, defeating Dino Sefer in the 10,000 metres.[11] He ran at the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale and was leading mid-race but stopped short after mistaking a timing mat for the finish line. Upon realising his error, he began running again but the stoppage had allowed to take the lead and he ended up in second place.[12] At the 2012 RAK Half Marathon he started the race slowly but increased his pace in the second half to finish as runner-up to Denis Kipruto Koech.[13]
Personal bests[]
- 10K - 27:43 minutes (2010)
- Half marathon - 59:39 minutes (2011)
- Marathon - 2:07:12 hours (2014)
References[]
- ^ Negash, Elshadai & Assefa, Tadele (2010-01-24). Jelila continues winning streak, unknown Jida takes shock men’s title - Sululta Cross Country. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ Benchrif, Mohammed (2010-02-01). Ethiopian sweep at Marrakech Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ Negash, Elshadai & Wagaw, Bizuayehu (2010-02-21). Melkamu and unheralded A. Bekele take Ethiopian World XC trials titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ 2010 World Cross Country Championships Official Team Results Senior Race - Men. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ Vazel, Pierre-Jean (2010-06-28). A. Bekele and Wangary take Langueux 10Km titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ Negash, Elshadai & Wagaw, Bizuayehu (2010-11-01). Mohammed and Bekele take Ethiopian 30km titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ Negash, Elshadai & Wagaw, Bizuayehu (2010-11-22). Utura and A. Bekele take Great Ethiopian Run 10km titles in Addis Ababa. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ November 2010 AIMS Results Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Association of International Marathons and Distance Races. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ van Hemert, Wim (2011-03-14). Desisa and Chepcirchir take fast Half Marathon wins in The Hague. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-17.
- ^ Butcher, Pat (2011-04-02). Limo and Cheromei shatter course records at Prague Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-04-02.
- ^ Negash, Elshadai (2011-05-05). Bekele impresses with 10,000m victory in Addis Ababa – Ethiopian Champs, Day 1. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-05.
- ^ Vazel, Pierre-Jean (2011-10-30). Tsegay and Cheromei crush course records in Marseille-Cassis Classic. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-10-30.
- ^ Hutchings, Tim (2012-02-17). Keitany wins but records blown off course in windy RAK Half Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-19.
External links[]
- Living people
- 1986 births
- Ethiopian male long-distance runners
- Ethiopian male marathon runners
- African Games bronze medalists for Ethiopia
- African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 All-Africa Games