Luchia Yishak (born 8 April 1973 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 ...

)Luchia Yishak
Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2011-03-13. is a former Ethiopian

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 ...

. She ran for Ethiopia at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in 1992 and 1996. She came to prominence as a teenager, winning medals on the track at the African Championships in Athletics and

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

and reached 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 ...

final at the

1991 World Championships in Athletics The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1. 1517 athletes from 167 countries participa ...

, finishing 10th. She had a series of high-profile wins on the cross country circuit, finished fourth at the 1990 and 1991

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 three World Cross Country team medals (1990–92). She made her Olympic debut at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. Her international career stalled after this and her next appearances at the 1995 World Championships and

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

saw her knocked out in the heats stages. She helped the Ethiopian women to the title at the

1996 IAAF World Road Relay Championships The 1996 IAAF World Road Relay Championships was the third edition of the global, international marathon relay competition, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The event took place on 13–14 April on the str ...

, but that year's appearances were her last on the international stage as the 26-year-old runner's career came to an abrupt end.

Career

Her first major success came at the

1989 African Championships in Athletics The 1989 African Championships in Athletics were held in Lagos, Nigeria between 4 and 8 August. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table See also * 1989 in athletics (track and field) External linksResults– GBR Athletics ...

, where she claimed the

3000 metres 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 ...

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

. She improved a position to take the

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 ...

in the event at the

1990 African Championships in Athletics The 1990 African Championships in Athletics were held in Cairo, Egypt between 3 and 6 October. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table See also *1990 in athletics (track and field) External linksResults– GBR Athletics {{ ...

behind

Derartu Tulu Derartu Tulu NL COL ( om, Daraartuu Tulluu, Amharic: ደራርቱ ቱሉ; born 21 March 1972) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at ...

.African Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-03-13. Luchia came close to an individual medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, finishing fourth and taking the team silver medal on both occasions. She made her global track debut at the

, where she finished tenth in the

final. The following month she represented Ethiopia at the

1991 All-Africa Games The 5th All-Africa Games were held from September 20 to October 1, 1991, in Cairo, Egypt. Forty-three countries participated in eighteen sports. For the first time the Games were held on a four-year cycle as planned. Egypt had hoped to use the G ...

and was the runner-up in the 3000 m behind

Susan Sirma Susan Sirma (born May 26, 1966) is a retired Kenyan middle-distance runner best known for winning a bronze medal over 3000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, becoming the first black African woman to win a track and field medal at World Champ ...

. Luchia performed well on the cross country running circuit in late 1991 to early 1992, taking wins 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 ...

Cross de San Sebastián The Cross Internacional de San Sebastián, also known as the ''Cross Internacional de Donostia'', is an annual cross country running event which is staged in late January in San Sebastián, Spain. The competition was first held in 1956 as a men's ...

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 ' ...

and

Almond Blossom Cross Country The Almond Blossom Cross Country ( pt, Cross Internacional das Amendoeiras em Flor) is an annual international cross country running competition which takes place in Albufeira, in the Algarve region of Portugal, in early March. It is one of the IAA ...

.Cross de San Sebastián

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

(2010-02-03). Retrieved on 2011-03-13. These performances contributed to her rank of third place on the

IAAF World Cross Challenge The IAAF World Cross Challenge was an annual global series of cross country running competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes accumulated points in the series' cross country meets during the s ...

series for that season. She was selected for the

1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, at the Franklin Park on March 21, 1992. A report on the event was given in ''The New York Times''. Complete results for senior men, junior men, ...

and her tenth-place finish led the Ethiopian women to the bronze medals in the team competition. On the

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

later that year, she won the 10,000 m bronze behind Derartu Tulu and

Lydia Cheromei Lydia Cheromei (born 15 May 1977, in Baringo District) is a Kenyan athlete born into a family of athletes. She specialises in long distance running. She rose to fame at the age of thirteen with a win in the junior race at the IAAF World Cross C ...

at the

1992 African Championships in Athletics The 1992 African Championships in Athletics were held between 25 and 28 June 1992 in Belle Vue Maurel, Pamplemousses District, Mauritius at the Stade Anjalay. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table See also * 1992 in athle ...

. As a result, Luchia was selected to make her Olympic debut at the age of nineteen, running in the 10,000 m at the

. However, she failed to progress beyond the heats stage of the event. She and Fita Bayisa became the first Ethiopians since

Mamo Wolde Degaga "Mamo" Wolde ( amh, ማሞ ወልዴ; 12 June 1932 – 26 May 2002) was an Ethiopian long distance runner who competed in track, cross-country, and road running events. He was the winner of the marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Ear ...

to win at the

Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza The Juan Muguerza Cross-Country, also known as the ''Elgoibar Cross-Country'', is an annual cross country running competition which takes place each January in Elgoibar, the Basque Country, Spain. It is named as a memorial of local runner Juan Mug ...

in January 1993. At the

, Ethiopian duo also took the men's and women's titles, repeating their feats of the previous year. In spite of her performances, she failed to gain a place on the national team for the World Cross Country Championships. Her next major outing came at the

1995 World Championships in Athletics The 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden on 5–13 August 1995. This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nat ...

, although she failed to make it past the 5000 m qualifiers. She experienced a brief resurgence in form in 1996 as she won her first national title in the 5000 m, guaranteeing herself a place on the Olympic team in the process. She also set a career best of 15:22.53 minutes for the event that season. However, the 23-year-old again failed to make it past the heats on the global stage, coming thirteenth in her 5000 m race at the

in Atlanta. She ran the anchor leg of the championship record-breaking team at the 1996 IAAF World Road Relay Championships, which she won in a time of 2:16:04 hours, alongside the Ethiopian women's team of

Genet Gebregiorgis Genet Gebregioris (born 1975 in Addis Ababa) is an Ethiopian middle distance runner who competed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She won a bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the 1995 All-Africa Games held in Harare. Three years later in Da ...

, Berhane Adere, Ayelech Worku,

Gete Wami Getenesh "Gete" Wami Degife (Amharic: ጌጤነሽ 'ጌጤ' ዋሚ ደግፌ born December 11, 1974 in Debre Berhan) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track, and road events. Her brother, Mulugeta Wami ...

and

Getenesh Urge Getenesh Urge ( am, ጌጤነሽ ኡርጌ; born 30 August 1970) is a retired Ethiopian middle distance runner who competed in the 1980s through to 2000. She competed in the women's 1500 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics. She won three bronze m ...

.Past Championships
. 1998 IAAF World Road Relay Championships. Retrieved on 2011-03-13.

Competition record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yishak, Luchia Living people 1973 births Ethiopian female long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing (living people) African Games silver medalists for Ethiopia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 All-Africa Games 20th-century Ethiopian women 21st-century Ethiopian women 21st-century Ethiopian people