Meseret Hailu Debele (born 12 September 1990) is an 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 ...

who competes in

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 ...

s and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

s. She was the gold medallist at the

2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Kavarna, Bulgaria on 6 October 2012. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given. Complete results were published for the men's race, for the wome ...

and won the

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road race has a Platinum Label from World Athletics. During the event, there a ...

that same year. Her personal bests are 2:21:09 hours for the marathon and 66:56 minutes for the half marathon. Meseret began competing in international road races as a teenager, beginning in 2009 with a win at the Dez Milhas Garoto and a runner-up finish at the Río de Janeiro Half Marathon in Brazil. She began to focus on the marathon thereafter, running three races over the distance in 2010. She ran 2:45:10 on her debut in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

, came fourth at the Kuala Lumpur Marathon, then made a big improvement at the La Rochelle Marathon by finishing second with a time of 2:30:42 hours. She came ninth at the 2011

Mumbai Marathon The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as t ...

, was runner-up by seven second at the

Belgrade Marathon The Belgrade Marathon is a marathon race held annually in Belgrade since 1988. It is typically held in mid-April and also features a half marathon and a fun run for the public. The Belgrade Marathon is one of the biggest sporting events i ...

, and came fifth at the Reims Marathon. She was also third at that year's

Route du Vin Half Marathon The ING Route du Vin Half Marathon (french: ING Route du Vin Semi-Marathon) is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.1 km/13.1 mi) which takes place in late September in Remich, Luxembourg. It is organised ...

. The 2012 season marked a significant career breakthrough for Meseret. She won her first major race at the

Egmond Half Marathon The Egmond Half Marathon ( nl, Egmond Halve Marathon) is an annual half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres that has been staged in Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands since 1973. The competition normally takes place in early January. Sections of the road ...

with a personal best of 71:18 minutes, beating former half marathon world champion

Florence Kiplagat Florence Jebet Kiplagat (born 27 February, 1987) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She is a two-time world champion, having won at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships ...

. A third-place performance at the

Prague Marathon The Prague Marathon (also known as Prague International Marathon (PIM) and Volkswagen Prague Marathon) is an annual road marathon held in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic each May. It was founded in 1995 and has grown to become a si ...

saw her knock three minutes off her best with a time of 2:27:15 hours. Her strong performance in Egmond earned her a place on the Ethiopian team for the

. In her first race for her country she exceeded expectations by running a personal best of 68:55 minutes and pipped her teammate

Feyse Tadese Feyse Tadese Boru (born 19 November 1988) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the half marathon. Career She made her marathon debut at the 2009 Venice Marathon and finished in tenth place with a time of 2:36:57. Feyse gained h ...

to the finish to take the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. Later that month she entered the

and surged away in the final stages to gain her first win over the distance, breaking the course record with her time of 2:21:09 hours. She knocked almost two minutes off her best at the 2013

RAK Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the world record, but Wanjiru himself set a new world record only a month later in ...

, running an Ethiopian record of 66:56 minutes for fourth place (and tenth on the all-time lists). Hailu finished second behind

Rita Jeptoo Rita Jeptoo (born 15 February 1981) is a Kenyan marathon runner. Originally a winner of the Boston Marathon three times, including setting the then course record at 2:18:57 in 2014, she had also won marathons in Chicago, Stockholm, and Milan ...

at the 2013 Boston Marathon, a performance that earned her selection to Ethiopian team to contest the marathon at the 2013 world championships. However, she dropped out of the world championship race, held in hot and humid conditions in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, after just 5 km. Her early withdrawal, together with that of team-mate

Tiki Gelana Erba Tiki Gelana ( am, ኧርባ ቲኪ ገላና; born 22 October 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. Her personal best of 2:18:58 had been the Ethiopian national record for the event from 2012 ...

, prompted the

Ethiopian Athletic Federation Ethiopian Athletic Federation (EAF) is an IAAF recognized member officially representing Ethiopia as the national governing body for the sport of Athletics. History The history of the sport may be traced back to military and school organizations ...

to ask the pair to submit written explanations for their actions.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hailu, Meseret Living people 1990 births Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners Sportspeople from Oromia Region World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners 20th-century Ethiopian women 21st-century Ethiopian women