Futsum Zeinasellassie ( Ge'ez: ፉፁም ዜናሥላሴ; born 16 December 1992 in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

) is an Eritrean-born American

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

. After running for

North Central High School North Central High School may refer to one of many high school in the United States: *North Central High School (Farmersburg, Indiana) *North Central High School (Indianapolis) *North Central High School (Louisiana), Lebeau, Louisiana * North Cent ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Zeinasellassie ran for

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

. He currently runs for the Hoka One One Northern Arizona Elite team.

Early life

Futsum Zeinasellassie was born in

, and was at a refugee camp in

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 ...

before moving to the United States at the age of 14. Zeinasellassie's father is a priest in the

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandri ...

. He has three brothers and four sisters. Zeinasellassie was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in January 2016.

Running career

High school

While attending

, Futsum Zeinasellassie qualified for the

Foot Locker Cross Country Championships The Eastbay-Foot Locker Cross Country Championships are a series of annual cross country running races held in various regions of the United States to determine the premier cross country runner in various age groups, but mainly serves to find the ...

three times, finishing 7th, 2nd, and 2nd. Zeinasellassie also claimed the 2011 Nike Cross Nationals individual title in 15:02, outdistancing runner-up Daniel Vertiz by an astounding 24 seconds. He also won 7 IHSAA State titles in Cross Country and Track. As a senior, Zeinasellassie claimed the Indiana cross country state record for 5000 Meters in 14:36 at the Flashrock Invitational on September 17, 2011 along with the Indiana State record at 3200 meters on the track in 8:47.75. During this time he was coached by both Byron Simpson And Rick Stover as the head coach.

Collegiate

Zeinasellassie began attending

in the fall of 2012. During his freshman cross country season he finished 31st at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a time of 29:54.10. In 2013 Zeinasellasie returned to the NCAA Cross Country Championships to finish 4th as a sophomore in 30:05.7 followed by a 3rd place showing as a junior in 30:25.3, and rounding out his cross country eligibility with a 4th place showing as a senior in 29:49.8. In 2015, Futsum Zeinasellassie set two Eritrean indoor track records in the 5000 m and 800 meters. Futsum Zeinasellassie is a 8-time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n, and 7-time Big Sky Conference champion.

Post Collegiate/Professional

Futsum Zeinasellassie was sponsored by COROS and trained with McKirdy Trained in Flagstaff, Arizona from 2017-2022.
At the 2017

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

championship Medtronic TC 10 Mile, Zeinasellassie was 10th USATF 10 Mile Championships/Medtronic TC 10 Mile and runner-up at the Monterey Bay Half Marathon.
At the 2018

championship Medtronic TC 10 Mile, Zeinasellassie placed 8th in 47:28.
On October 6, 2019, Zeinasellasie won the Medtronic TC 10 Mile and became the USATF 10 Mile National Champion in a time of 46:55.
On 19 January 2020, Zeinasellassie ran 1:01:44 and placed 14th at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in Houston, Texas.
On 7 March 2020, Zeinasellassie ran 45:38 and placed 11th at the USATF 15 km Road Running Championships in Jacksonville, Florida.
On 7 May 2022, Zeinasellassie ran 1:02:36 and placed 2nd at the USATF Half-Marathon Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.
On 4 December 2022, Zeinasellasie won the 2022 USATF Marathon Championships at

California International Marathon The California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual road marathon () held in Northern California since 1983. The net downhill course starts at Folsom Dam and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The race is organized by the Sacrament ...

in 2:11:01.

Personal bests

Zeinasellassie's personal bests are: *1,500m - 3:45.04 (2014) *3,000m – 7:53.76 (2016) *5,000m – 13:34.84 (2017) *10,000m – 27:52.70 (2016) *10k - 28:55 (2022) *15k - 43:27 (2022) *10 mile - 46:53 (2022) *Half Marathon - 1:01:21 (2021) *25k - 1:14:29 (2021) *Marathon: 2:11:01 (2022)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeinasellassie, Futsum Living people American male long-distance runners Eritrean male long-distance runners Eritrean emigrants to the United States Eritrean refugees Eritrean Christians Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's cross country runners 1992 births Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Indianapolis Track and field athletes from Indiana