Fikre Wondafrash (born February 27, 1973) is an Ethiopian retired

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who specialized in the 1500 meters. He competed for Ethiopia at the

1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics was the fourth edition of the international athletics competition for athletes aged 19 years or under. It was held in Seoul, South Korea from September 16 to September 20, 1992. Results Men Wome ...

Running career

Youth

Although born in Ethiopia, Wondafrash spent a part of his upbringing in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

since his mother worked as an embassy cook there. At one point he had citizenship in Yugoslavia, as he set the country's national boys' junior record for the indoor 1500 meters on February 11, 1992, running 3:48.57 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

for Belgrade club

AK Crvena Zvezda AK Crvena zvezda is an athletics club from Belgrade, Serbia. It is part of the sports society SD Crvena Zvezda. Honours and achievements Men *National Championships **Winners (40): 1953, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 19 ...

. On July 15, 1992, he ran a personal best time of 3:44.29 in the 1500 meters. Later that summer, he represented Ethiopia at the 1992 World Junior Championships in Athletics, placing second to last in heat 2 of the men's 1500 meters.

Collegiate

He was subsequently contacted by Brigham Young University track coach Willard Hirschi, who recruited him to BYU when Yugoslavia was breaking up. On March 30, 1996, he placed second in the men's 800 meters at the Cal Poly meet in

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (; Spanish for " St. Louis the Bishop", ; Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfwa ...

with a time of 1:52.78. On March 22, 1997, he finished in 13th place in the men's 5000 meters at the Stanford Invitational in a time of 14:32.74. In February 1998, he provisionally qualified for the preliminary rounds of the 1998 NCAA DI Indoor Championships when he ran 4:10.16 for the mile at the Mountain State Games in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

. On May 23, 1998, he placed seventh in the men's 1500 meters at the WAC Championships in 3:49.53.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wondafrash, Fikre Expatriate sportspeople in Yugoslavia Ethiopian expatriates in Yugoslavia Ethiopian male middle-distance runners Ethiopian middle-distance runners BYU Cougars men's track and field athletes 1973 births Living people Ethiopian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Naturalised athletes