Elvan Abeylegesse, (also formerly: Hewan Abeye (አልቫን አበይለገሠ,

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 ...

) and Elvan Can (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

); born September 11, 1982) is an Ethiopian-born naturalized

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek (d ...

and

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

athlete who competes over distances from

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 ...

up to the

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 ...

, and also in cross country. She is the former world record-holder for the

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 ...

, at 14:24.68 minutes. In August 2015, the Turkish Athletics Federation confirmed that an anti- doping test taken during the 2007 World Championships in Athletics had been retested and found to be positive for a controlled substance, and that the athlete had been temporarily suspended pending retesting of her 'B-sample'. If confirmed, Abeylegesse stood to lose her 2007 medal, and possibly other awards from that date. On 29 March 2017,

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

confirmed the positive test, expunged her results from 25 August 2007 until 25 August 2009 (thereby stripping her of the two silver medals she had won at the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

), and banned her from athletics for two years.

Early life and career

Abeylegesse was born Hewan Abeye on September 11, 1982 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised with her seven brothers and sisters. She began her career running cross country. In 1999, she started for the Ethiopian junior team at the

World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland and finished ninth. There, she was invited to a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Coming to Istanbul, she said that she liked it there very much. ''"I didn't get enough support from my federation in Ethiopia,"'' she said. ''"My track club in Turkey gave me all the support I needed. So I decided to move to Turkey. The support was much better in Istanbul. I thought it would be easier to reach my goals in Turkey.”'' To get Turkish citizenship, she married and took the name Elvan Can. She has since divorced and is now called Elvan Abeylegesse. ''“As a youngster, my heroes were Ethiopian runners. I would follow the victories of Gete Wami particularly”,'' Abeylegesse said. ''“I studied all their actions: how they slept, how they ate, how they trained, and how they competed.”'' Registered in the Enka Sports Club in Istanbul, she is coached by Ertan Hatipoglu, a former triple jumper of Turkish origin from Bulgaria. She still has a friendly relationship with other Ethiopian runners, but there is a problem with her former federation. ''“The officials don’t allow me to train in Ethiopia any longer",'' Abeylegesse says. “I train now at high altitudes in Turkey as I think that some of my former compatriots see me as a threat. They are uncomfortable with me training in Ethiopia. But I, of course, remain friends with the individual Ethiopian runners.”

Career highlights

Abeylegesse's career in the international arena began at the age of 18 in Grosseto, Italy in 2001 by winning the European 3000 m and 5000 m titles, setting a national record for Turkey. She became a world leader with a time of 8:31:94 in the 3000 m in Brussels, Belgium in 2002 and with a time of 3:58.38 in the 1500 m in Moscow, Russia in 2004. Abeylegesse has been a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program since August 2002. At the Evergood Bergen Bislett Games in Norway on June 11, 2004, the sixth meeting of TDK Golden League, Abeylegesse broke the women's 5000 m world record, which had belonged to Chinese runner Jiang Bo since 1997 (14:28.09), improving the mark by over three seconds to 14:24.68. She became the first Turkish athlete ever to set a world record. ''"I worked very hard, day and night,"'' Abeylegesse said, speaking through an interpreter. ''"My target since the first day I started running has been to break world records and become Olympic champion."'' Şarık Tara, the honorary president of her club, said, ''"I am proud of our daughter Elvan. Her achievement is an even greater success than our men's national soccer team finishing third in the World Cup."'' On 3 June 2006 her record time was beaten by Ethiopian Meseret Defar, who ran in 14:24.53 in New York City. She ran at the inaugural World 10K Bangalore race in 2008 and finished in a dead heat with Grace Momanyi, with both runners eventually being declared joint victors. She was the 2010 recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy, an annual award given by the

International Fair Play Committee The International Fair Play Committee (french: Comité International pour le Fair Play), abbreviated as the CIFP, is a not for profit international non-governmental organisation which serves to foster sportsmanship in international competition. It ...

. She had lent a pair of running shoes to competitor Meselech Melkamu just moments before the beginning of the 10,000 metres final 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 ...

. Having forgotten to bring her shoes to the track, Melkamu went on to take the silver. Abeylegesse won the 2010 edition of the

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 a time of 1:07:07. This was the fastest ever time for a woman in the half marathon race and made her the sixth fastest woman overall. She played down suggestions of a permanent switch to longer road races, however, saying a

debut would have to wait until after the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. At the

2010 European Athletics Championships The 2010 European Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships, organised under the supervision of the European Athletic Association. They were held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Cat ...

, Abeylegesse won gold in the

10,000 m 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 ...

, finishing in 31 minutes, 10.23 seconds On 28 July 2010, and she won the silver medal in

5000m 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 Athletics at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Games and the World Championships in At ...

finishing in 14 minutes, 54.44 seconds on 1 August 2010. She narrowly missed out on a medal at the

2010 IAAF Continental Cup The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 200 ...

, finishing two seconds behind Molly Huddle in the 5000 m. She returned to action in 2012 after her pregnancy and made her debut over 20 km, finishing as runner-up at the

20 Kilomètres de Paris The 20 Kilomètres de Paris (''Paris 20 km'') is an annual road running competition over 20 kilometres which takes place on the streets of Paris, France in October. First held in 1979, the race attracts top level international competitors ...

. She was also runner-up in the 15K section of the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon. She won the

Nice Half Marathon The Nice Half Marathon (french: Semi-marathon international de Nice) is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.1 km) held in April in the city of Nice, France. It is organised by the Azur Sport Organisation, wh ...

in April 2013. On November 17, 2013 she became runner-up in the women's category at the Istanbul Marathon with a time of 2:29:30.

Doping ban

In August 2015, the Turkish Athletics Federation confirmed that an anti- doping test taken during the 2007 World Championships in Athletics had been retested and found to be positive for a controlled substance, and that the athlete had been temporarily suspended pending retesting of her 'B-sample'. If confirmed, Abeylegesse stood to lose her 2007 medal, and possibly other awards from that date. On 29 March 2017,

confirmed the positive test, expunged her results from 25 August 2007 until 25 August 2009 (thereby stripping her of the two silver medals she had won at the

), and banned her from athletics for two years.

Personal life

Abeylegesse married her longtime partner Semeneh Debelie in February 2011 and decided to take the season off due to pregnancy. In July 2011, she gave birth to a girl named Arsema.

International competitions

Marathons

* Istanbul Marathon: 2013, 2nd, 2:29:30

World records

*June 11, 2004 Bergen Bislett Games (Golden League), Bergen, Norway (5000 m) (14:24:68) WR

Personal bests

Performance progression

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abeylegesse, Elvan 1982 births Living people Athletes from Addis Ababa Turkish female middle-distance runners Turkish female long-distance runners Turkish female marathon runners Ethiopian female marathon runners Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Turkey World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists World record setters in athletics (track and field) Turkish people of Ethiopian descent Ethiopian emigrants to Turkey Naturalized citizens of Turkey Enkaspor athletes European champions for Turkey Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Athletes (track and field) at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Turkish sportspeople in doping cases Ethiopian sportspeople in doping cases Athletes stripped of World Athletics Championships medals Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in athletics