Azmeraw Bekele Molalign (born 22 January 1986) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ...

and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

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 Sululta Cross Country, set a race record of 1:00:57 hours at the

Marrakech Half Marathon Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Morocco, Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the ...

. 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 The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in ...

. At the world event he finished in 21st position, helping the Ethiopian men's team (including

Gebregziabher Gebremariam Gebregziabher Gebremariam (born September 10, 1984 in Tigray) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. He established himself at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning the junior title in 2002 and two silver medals in the senio ...

Abera Kuma Abera Kuma Lema (born 31 August 1990) is an Ethiopian long distance runner, who competes in track, cross country, and road running events. An African junior champion over 5000 m, he won his first senior international medal (a team bronze) at the ...

and

Hunegnaw Mesfin Hunegnaw Mesfin (born 31 January 1989) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in cross country and track running events. He has represented his country at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won medals in the s ...

) to the bronze medal. 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). He won the national 30 km championships at the end of October and secured the

Great Ethiopian Run The Great Ethiopian Run ( am, ታላቁ ሩጫ በኢትዮጵያ) is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Overview The competition was first envisioned by neighbors Ethiopian runn ...

10K title a month later. He returned to France the following week and made his marathon debut, finishing as runner-up at the

Marathon De La Rochelle The Marathon de La Rochelle is an annual road running event which takes place in late November in La Rochelle, France. It features a full 42.195 km marathon race as well a 10 km race for amateur runners, a half marathon for wheelchair rac ...

with a time of 2:10:25 hours. He began his 2011 season on the roads, just missing out on a win at the City-Pier-City Loop behind compatriot

Lelisa Desisa Lelisa Desisa Benti (born 14 January 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. Desisa gained his first international medal at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, where he took the 10,000 ...

, although he set a personal best time of 59:39 minutes for the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

. He was also the runner-up at the Prague Half Marathon three weeks later. He claimed his first national title on the track at the 40th

Ethiopian Athletics Championships The Ethiopian Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Ethiopia. The competition was first held in 1971.

, defeating

Dino Sefer Dino Sefir Kemal (born 28 May 1988) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He was one of three members of the Ethiopian team who competed in the marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...

. He ran at the

Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale The Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale is an annual half marathon which follows a course from Marseille to Cassis in France during the last weekend in October. It has the silver label of the IAAF Road Race Label Events and is thus among the ...

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 Atsede Tsegay to take the lead and he ended up in second place. 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.Hutchings, Tim (2012-02-17)
Keitany wins but records blown off course in windy RAK Half Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-19.

Personal bests

*10K - 27:43 minutes (2010) *Half marathon - 59:39 minutes (2011) *Marathon - 2:07:12 hours (2014)

References

External links

*
Tilastopaja profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bekele, Azmeraw 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 21st-century Ethiopian people