Hunegnaw Mesfin (born 31 January 1989) is an Ethiopian professional

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 cross country and

track running Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

events. He has represented his country 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 ...

and won medals in the senior and junior team categories. Mesfin won his first major medal at the 2007 African Junior Championships in Athletics, taking 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 ...

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 ...

behind Kenya's

Mathew Kisorio Mathew Kipkoech Kisorio (born 16 May 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in road running and cross country running competitions. He has a half marathon best of 58:46 minutes (making him the third fastest ever) and a mar ...

. His first year of global competition came in 2008. He was eleventh in the junior race at the

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 30, 2008. The races were held at the Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races ...

– a performance which helped Ethiopia to the team silver medals. He just missed out on a medal at the

2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2008 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz in Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium between 8 and 13 July 2008. Previously Bydgoszcz hosted t ...

, finishing fourth behind fellow Ethiopian

Ibrahim Jeilan Ibrahim Jeilan Gashu (Amharic: ዕብራህም ጅእላን ጋሹ; born 12 June 1989) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres on the track, as well as cross country running. He is a ...

.Mesfin Hungenaw

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 ...

. Retrieved on 2011-02-21. He competed for Ethiopia at the

International Chiba Ekiden The Ekiden#Other_Major_Ekiden_Events_in_Japan, International Chiba Ekiden was an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race (athletics), relay race, or ekiden as it is known in ...

and won his race stage, helping the national team to the title. He ended the year with a third-place finish at the inaugural

Bahir Dar Cross Country ''Bahir'' or ''Sefer HaBahir'' ( he, סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר, ; "Book of Clarity" or "Book of Illumination") is an anonymous mystical work, attributed to a 1st-century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben HaKanah (a contemporary of Yochanan ben Zakai ...

. Mesfin started 2009 with a win at the Sululta Cross Country in the junior section. He competed as a senior at the

2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

, however, and his tenth-place performance brought the Ethiopian men second place in the team rankings. He began to compete on the senior European cross country circuit at the end of that year and took a significant victory at the Cross Internacional Zornotza in January 2010, coming out on top of a

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

with

Gebre Gebremariam Gebregziabher Gebremariam (born September 10, 1984 in Tigray) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. He established himself at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning the junior title in 2002 and two silver medals in the senio ...

, the reigning world champion. He celebrated his 21st birthday with a second high-profile victory, this time at the

Cinque Mulini The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills along Olona river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ' ...

. In spite of these performances, he failed to match his placing of the previous year at the

2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw i ...

, where he ended the race in the nineteenth place as Ethiopia took the bronze behind

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

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 ...

. He gave a strong performance at the

Jan Meda Cross Country The Jan Meda International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition held at the Jan Meda Race Course in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Typically held in January or February, the event serves as the national championship for Ethiopia a ...

in February 2011, surprising the more established

Imane Merga Imane Merga Jida (ኢማነ መርጋ ጂዳ) (born 15 October 1988) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres. He won his first world title at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championship ...

with a burst of speed to win his first national senior title. However, it was his compatriot who took the title at the

2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 20, 2011. The races were held at the Polideportivo Antonio Gil Hernández in Punta Umbría, Spain. Reports of the event were given for the IAAF. Preparation The Unite ...

while Mesfin faded in the latter stages and came eighth, although he and Imane led the Ethiopian's to second in the team rankings. He began to compete on the European road circuit that year and was third at the

Giro Media Blenio The Giro Media Blenio is an annual road running event over 10 kilometres which takes place in April in the village of Dongio, Switzerland. It was created in honour of Markus Ryffel's silver medal in the 5000 metres at the 1984 Los Angeles O ...

10K in April, setting a time of 28:33 minutes. He ran a 5000 m personal best of 13:38.92 minutes at the

Athletissima Athletissima is an annual athletics meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. The first edition was held on 8 July 1977 in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. In ...

meet in June and made his debut over the

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 ...

at the

Udine Half Marathon The Udine Half Marathon ( it, Maratonina Udine) is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance (21.1 km/13.1 mi) which takes place in late September in Udine, Italy. The competition is organised by the Associazione Marat ...

, coming sixth in a time of 1:02:00 hours. At the

Cross Zornotza The Cross Internacional Zornotza is an annual cross country running event which takes place in January in Amorebieta-Etxano (Zornotza), the Basque Country, Spain. The competition was first held in 1954 and has taken place every year since, with th ...

in 2012 he took third place. His 2011/2012 cross country season began with a third-place finish at the

Cross de Atapuerca The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cross country season. ...

.Valiente, Emeterio (2011-11-13)
Merga and Masai confirm supremacy in Atapuerca as IAAF Cross Country Permit season kicks off
. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-15.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mesfin, Hunegnaw 1989 births Living people Ethiopian male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Amhara Region 21st-century Ethiopian people