Assefa Mezgebu (born June 19, 1978 in Sidamo) is a retired

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

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 ...

, most known for winning 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 ...

in the

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 race ...

event at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. He was also the runner-up at the

2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event ...

, following a bronze medal at the

1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, a World Athletic Championships event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and Augu ...

. He also competed in

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 coun ...

and reached the podium at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

in 1998 and 2000. Assefa Mezgebu is the younger brother of

Ayele Mezgebu Ayele Mezgebu (born 6 January 1973) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialized in cross-country running. He is the older brother of Assefa Mezgebu Assefa Mezgebu (born June 19, 1978 in Sidamo) is a retired Ethiopian long-dis ...

International competitions

Personal bests

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

- 7:28.45 min (1998) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

- 12:53.84 min (1998) *

- 26:49.90 min (2002)

External links

* 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Oromia Region Ethiopian male long-distance runners Ethiopian male cross country runners Olympic athletes of Ethiopia Olympic bronze medalists for Ethiopia Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics African Games gold medalists for Ethiopia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games Goodwill Games medalists in athletics World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia Competitors at the 2001 Goodwill Games Goodwill Games gold medalists in athletics {{Ethiopia-athletics-bio-stub