Aselefech Mergia Medessa ( Oromo: ''Asallafach Margaa Mardaasaa'';

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: አሰለፈች መርጊያ; born 23 January 1985) is an Ethiopian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who competes in the marathon. She was a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

list in the event at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. She is a two-time winner of the

Dubai Marathon The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. History Initial era The inaugural Dubai Marathon was held ...

and has finished in the top three at the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

s. She was retrospectively confirmed as the winner of the 2010 London Marathon after the top two were disqualified. Her personal best of 2:19:31 hours is a former Ethiopian record for the distance and places her within the top ten of all-time.

Career

She began taking part in professional road races in 2006, starting with a seventh-place finish at the

Delhi Half Marathon Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Rac ...

. She won the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2007, finishing with a time of 1:14:50. She was second in the women's 10K in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, finishing behind

Vivian Cheruiyot Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot (born 11 September 1983) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in track and cross country running. She represented Kenya at the Summer Olympics in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a silver medal at the 5 ...

but setting a personal best of 32:19 for the distance. At the 2008 World Cross Country Championships she finished sixteenth in the senior race. With five Ethiopian runners ahead of her she missed out for a place on the victorious Ethiopian team. That year she won the

with a personal best run of 1:08:17. She closed the year by winning a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the

2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 12 October 2008. This event was first announced as the 2008 IAAF World Road Running Championships, but in November 2007, the IAAF announced that the name of t ...

. She made her

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

debut in April 2009 at the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon (french: Marathon de Paris) is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon. The marathon begins along the Champs ...

, where she ran 2:25:02 for second place. She topped the podium at the

World 10K Bangalore The World 10K Bengaluru (known as the TCS World 10K Bengaluru for sponsorship reasons by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)) is an annual 10 kilometres road running competition which takes place in Bangalore, India. The competition was first ...

the following month, just holding off a charge from

Mary Keitany Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (born 18 January 1982) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. She is the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she plac ...

to win the race in 32:08. Mergia won the

in the women's marathon at the

, recording a time of 2:25:32. Aselefech improved her

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 shortcu ...

personal best to 1:07:22 at the 2010

Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the world record, but Wanjiru himself set a new world record only a month later in ...

. Despite the fast time, this was only enough for third place behind

Elvan Abeylegesse Elvan Abeylegesse, (also formerly: Hewan Abeye (አልቫን አበይለገሠ, Amharic) and Elvan Can ( Turkish); born September 11, 1982) is an Ethiopian-born naturalized Turkish middle and long-distance running athlete who competes over d ...

and

Mare Dibaba Mare Dibaba Hurrsa (born 20 October 1989) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She won the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing. Dibaba is not related to track Olympic champion and world record holder Tirunesh Dibaba. Biography He ...

. More improvements came at the

2010 London Marathon The 2010 London Marathon was the 30th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 25 April. The elite men's race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede in a time of 2:05:19 hours and the elite women's ...

: although initially finishing third with a run of 2:22:38, improving her best by over two and a half minutes, she was subsequently declared the winner after doping convictions nullified results of the first two runners. She returned to defend her Bangalore 10K title in May, but was beaten to the tape by compatriot

Wude Ayalew Wude Ayalew Yimer ( Amharic: ውዴ ፡ አያሌው ፡ ይመር; born 4 July 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. She was the bronze medallist over 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and took the s ...

and, finishing two seconds behind her, Mergia had to settle for the runner-up position. She regained her Delhi Half Marathon title in November: learning from the poor pacing which had left her in ninth place the previous year, she stuck to the front and won the race in a sprint finish ahead of Merima Mohammed. She came close to her personal best with a win at the 2011

, just missed the course record mark, but gained the US$250,000 first place prize. She was chosen for the Ethiopian marathon team at the 2011 World Championships and was in twelfth at the 40 km point of the race, but dropped out in the final kilometres. In October she ran at the

Great South Run The Great South Run is an annual 10 mile (16.09 km) road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom providing an intermediate distance between the ten kilometre and the half marathon (21.097 km) runs. Launched in 1990 ...

and easily saw off a challenge from

Doris Changeywo Doris Chepkwemoi Changeywo (born 12 December 1984) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who specialises in the 10,000 metres and cross country running. She began to enjoy success in athletics in 2006, becoming the East African ...

to win the 10-mile race. An attempt to defend her Delhi Half Marathon title ended in a third-place finish, although she improved her best time by a second. In January 2012, Aselefech won the

for the second time, setting an Ethiopian record of 2:19:31 hours to break the course record and become the seventh fastest woman ever over the distance. In January 2015, Aselefech won the

for the third time, 2:20:02.

Personal bests

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

- 4:23.39 min (2007) *

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 shortcu ...

1:07:21 (2011) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

- 2:19:31 (2012)

Competition record

Road race wins

: 2008, 2010 *

: 2009 *

: 2010 *

: 2011, 2012, 2015 *

: 2011

References

External links

*
Marathon Info profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mergia, Aselefech 1985 births Living people Ethiopian female marathon runners Ethiopian female long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists London Marathon female winners 21st-century Ethiopian women