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Meselech Melkamu

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Meselech Melkamu

Meselech Melkamu at the 2009 World Championships.
Medal record
Representing  Ethiopia
Women's athletics
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2009 Berlin 10,000 m
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place 2008 Valencia 3000 m
World Cross Country Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Bruxelles Junior race
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Fukuoka Long race
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Fukuoka Short race
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Mombasa Senior race
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Amman Senior race
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Bydgoszcz Senior race
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Addis Ababa 5000 m
Silver medal – second place 2010 Nairobi 10,000 m

Meselech Melkamu (born 19 April 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships, but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run over 10,000 metres in 2009, which until August 2016 ranked her second on the all-time list behind world record holder Wang Junxia. She is one of seven women in history to break the 30-minute barrier and one of four Ethiopians to accomplish the feat.[1][2]

Melkamu was born in Debre Marqos. Since 2012, she has competed in road races. She won the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon in a course record and personal best of 2:21:01 hours.

Career

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She made her breakthrough in the junior ranks in 2004 by winning the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and taking the 5000 metres title at the World Junior Championships in Athletics. She just missed the senior medals in 2005, taking fourth in the short race at the World Cross Country Championships and fourth in the 5000 metres at the World Championships.

Her first major medals as a senior athlete came the following year as Melkamu won bronze medals in both the long and short races at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (also winning two team golds). She went on to win the 10 kilometres Great Ireland Run the following month in an event-record 31:41 minutes finish time.[3]

She repeated her cross country bronze medal in 2007, helping the Ethiopian women win the team gold again. She also won a silver medal on the track at the All-Africa Games, finishing as runner-up behind Meseret Defar in the 5000 metres. She was sixth over that distance at the World Championships later that year.

Melkamu won her first indoor medal over 3000 metres in March 2008, again taking the second spot behind Defar at the World Indoor Championships. She did not win a medal at the World Cross Country Championships (finishing in ninth place), but she defeated Defar to win the 5000 metres at the African Championships. She was selected to represent Ethiopia at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, finishing seventh in the 5000 metres final[3] in a time of 15:49.03. (She finished the race in eight place but rose to seventh after Elvan Abeylegesse's runner-up finish was expunged years later because of doping.)

She returned to the podium at the 2009 World Cross Country Championships, taking another bronze medal. On 14 June, she broke the African record in the 10,000 metres with a time of 29:53.80 at a race in Utrecht, Netherlands, bettering Tirunesh Dibaba's time of 29:54.66.[4] She won her first world track medal later that season, finishing as runner-up to Linet Masai in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships.

She continued her bronze medal streak at the 2010 World Cross Country Championships. On 31 July, she won a silver medal at the African Championships in Nairobi, finishing second to Dibaba in the 10,000 metres.[3][5] To finish the year, she won the Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race in the Obudu local government area of Nigeria, which doubled as the African Mountain Running Championships.[6]

In February 2011, she won her fourth career title at the Jan Meda International Cross Country in Addis Ababa.[7] At the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon, her first marathon, she stayed in the lead group until the 37 kilometre mark, after which she pulled away to victory in a new course record of 2:21:01 hours.[8] In February 2013, she ran a half marathon personal best of 1:08:05 hours while finishing in seventh place at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates.[9]

Personal bests

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  • 1500 metres – 4:07.52 (2007)
  • Mile run – 4:33.94 (2003)
  • 2000 metres (indoor) - 5:39.2 (2007) (intermediate time in a longer race) (12th fastest ever as of 2 April 2017)[10]
  • 3000 metres (outdoor) - 8:34.73 (2005)
  • 3000 metres (indoor) - 8:23.74 (2007) (4th fastest ever as of 17 June 2017)[11]
  • 5000 metres (outdoor) – 14:31.91 (2010)
  • 10,000 metres (track) – 29:53.80 (2009) (6th fastest ever as of 5 July 2017)[12]
  • 10 kilometres (road) – 31:17 (2013) (intermediate time in a longer race), 31:41 (2006)[13]
  • 15 kilometres (road) - 47:54 (2013) (intermediate time in a longer race)[14]
  • 20 kilometres (road) - 1:04:32 (2013) (intermediate time in a longer race)[15]
  • Half marathon - 1:08:05 (2013)
  • 30 kilometres (road) - 1:39.21 (2014) (intermediate time in a longer race)[16]
  • Marathon – 2:21:01 (2012)

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Ethiopia
2004 World Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy 1st 5000 m 15:21.52
2005 World Cross Country Championships St-Étienne-St-Galmier, France 6th Short race (4.196 km) 13:28
1st Team 18 pts
4th Long race (8.108 km) 26:39
1st Team 16 pts
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 4th 5000 m 14:43.47
World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th 3000 m 8:50.42
2006 World Cross Country Championships Fukuoka, Japan 3rd Short race (4 km) 12:54
1st Team 25 pts
3rd Long race (8 km) 25:38
1st Team 16 pts
African Championships Bambous, Mauritius 6th 5000 m 16:01.09
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 6th 5000 m 16:08.03
2007 World Cross Country Championships Mombasa, Kenya 3rd Senior race (8 km) 26:48
1st Team 19 pts
All-Africa Games Algiers, Algeria 2nd 5000 m 15:03.86
World Championships Osaka, Japan 6th 5000 m 15:01.42
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 5th 5000 m 15:06.20
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 2nd 3000 m 8:41.50
World Cross Country Championships Edinburgh, Great Britain 9th Senior race (7.905 km) 25:51
1st Team 18 pts
African Championships Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1st 5000 m 15:49.81
Olympic Games Beijing, China 8th 5000 m 15:49.03
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 3rd 5000 m 14:58.76
2009 World Cross Country Championships Amman, Jordan 3rd Senior race (8 km) 26:19
2nd Senior team 28 pts
World Championships Berlin, Germany 2nd 10,000 m 30:51.34
2010 World Cross Country Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 3rd Senior race (7.759 km) 24:26
2nd Senior team 22 pts
African Championships Nairobi, Kenya 2nd 10,000 m 31:55.50
2011 World Cross Country Championships Punta Umbria, Spain 4th Senior race (8 km) 25:18
2nd Senior team 29 pts
All-Africa Games Maputo, Mozambique None 10,000 m Did not finish
World Championships Daegu, South Korea 5th 10,000 m 30:56.55
2013 World Championships Moscow, Russia None Marathon Did not finish

References

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  1. ^ Women's 10,000 all-time list, 28 June 2017, accessed 5 July 2017
  2. ^ "Melkamu stuns with 29:53.80 run in Utrecht". International Association of Athletics Federations. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Johannes, Sabrina (31 July 2010). Focus on Athletes – Meselech Melkamu. IAAF. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  4. ^ Monti, David; Ramsak, Bob (15 June 2009). "MELKAMU STUNS WITH 29:53.80 RUN IN UTRECHT". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Dibaba restores Ethiopia's pride, Oke, Simpson and Lazib hit Gold in Nairobi - AAC Day 4". Athletics Africa. 31 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Dinkesa and Melkamu take African Mountain Running titles". International Association of Athletics Federations. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  7. ^ Negash, Elshadai (21 February 2011). "Melkamu, Mesfin dominate Ethiopian trials for Punta Umbria". International Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Patience pays for Makau in Frankfurt, debut win for Melkamu". International Association of Athletics Federations. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  9. ^ "Kabuu and Kipsang triumph in high-quality races at Ras al-Khaimah Half". International Association of Athletics Federations. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  10. ^ Larsson, Peter (2 April 2017). "All-time women's best 2000m - indoor". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  11. ^ Larsson, Peter (17 June 2017). "All-time women's best 3000 m - indoor". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  12. ^ Larsson, Peter (5 July 2017). "All-time women's best 10 000m". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  13. ^ Larsson, Peter (17 June 2017). "All-time women's best 10km road race". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  14. ^ Larsson, Peter (28 May 2017). "All-time women's best 15km road race". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  15. ^ Larsson, Peter (14 June 2017). "All-time women's best 20km road race". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  16. ^ Larsson, Peter (18 June 2017). "All-time women's best 30km road race". Retrieved 5 July 2017.
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