Kirubel Erassa (born June 17, 1993) is an Ethiopian-born American middle- and

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 ...

. Kirubel was a silver medalist in

3000 meters 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 ...

at the

2014 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 50th NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 33rd NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Albuquerque Convention Cen ...

and seven-time All-American in NCAA Division 1 track and field.

Early life

Erassa attended

Grayson High School Grayson High School is located in Loganville, Georgia and has an enrollment of over 3,100 students. The school pulls students from many areas of southeastern Gwinnett County, mainly Grayson Grayson may refer to: Places Canada * Grayson, ...

and was a national elite high school runner there. He earned spot on the 2009 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships team.2016 Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Senior 8 km race result
Great Edinburgh International Cross Country. January 2016. He also ran in the 2010 adidas Jim Ryun Boys Dream Mile at the New York

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

in June. At the 2010

Nike Indoor Nationals Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

, Erassa placed first in the

5000 meters 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 stand ...

and was runner-up in the mile run.http://parser.dyestat.com/search.jsp?athID=80311 In his junior year, Erassa earned the Georgia AAAAA state championship in 1600 metres and competed at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He took the Georgia AAAAA state championship in cross country and 1600 metres as a senior, as well as being the 3200 metres runner-up.

Oklahoma State University

Track and field

In his first year in collegiate track and field he placed third in the mile at the Big 12 Conference indoor championships and ninth in the 3000 m. At the regional outdoor championships he was only tenth in the 5000 m, but managed fourth in the

1500 meters 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 ...

. He won the Big 12 Conference outdoor championship in the 5000 m in his second year and also was the 3000 m runner-up at that level. He gained NCAA All-American honours in the indoor mile and outdoor 5000 m (ninth place) that year. He placed in the top three of all his events at Big 12 Conference championship in his junior year. Indoors he was runner-up in the mile and third in the 3000 m, then outdoors he took second place in the 1500 m and third in the 5000 m. At the NCAA championships he was sixth in the distance medley relay, third over 3000 m and 18th in the 5000 m. In his final year at Oklahoma state he took a clean sweep of Big 12 Conference titles, including the mile, 3000 m and 5000 m indoors and a 5000/

10,000 meters 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 ...

double outdoors. In his last appearance at the NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Kirubel was the 3000 m runner-up and also earned All American honours in the distance medley relay.Oklahoma State Kirubel Erassa
Oklahoma State University

Cross country

In his freshman year at Oklahoma state he placed seventh in the Big 12 Conference cross country, then improved to second place the following year, in which Oklahoma State Cowboys took the team title. His 102nd place finish at the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship also helped his school to the NCAA team title. He was the winner of the Big 12 Conference race in his third year.

International

2012

He was named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week on 11 January 2012 as a result of his victory in the junior men’s 6 km race at the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country. He was the only American individual winner and led the American junior men to a team title.

2016

Kirubel Erassa placed 26th at the 2016 Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Senior 8 km race. Erassa ran 4:04.5 placed 7th on the road at the 2016 Grandma's Minnesota Mile on September 11th.

USA National Championships

References

External links

Athlete Spotlight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erassa, Kirubel 1993 births Living people Ethiopian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Stillwater, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Gwinnett County, Georgia Track and field athletes from Oklahoma American male middle-distance runners African-American track and field athletes American male track and field athletes 21st-century African-American sportspeople