Teklemariam Medhin Weldeslassie (born 24 June 1989) is an

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 ...

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 specializes in the

5000 metres 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 stan ...

and

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 ...

. He represented his country at the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Running career

Junior career

Medhin was born in

Hazega Hazega ( ti, ሃዘጋ) is a small village in Central Eritrea located in the Zoba Maekel, Maekel/Central Region or the former province of Hamasien. It is located approximately north-west from the capital city, Asmara, and south-east of Keren, Eri ...

. As a junior, he competed in the junior races 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 ...

, finishing thirteenth in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and fourteenth in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. He finished twelfth in the 5000 metres at the 2006 World Junior Championships, and also competed in the 2008 Olympic 10,000 metres while still a junior.

Senior career

At the

2009 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 ...

he finished ninth in the senior race. The Eritrean team took bronze medals in the team competition. At the 2009 World Championships he finished twelfth in the

and fifteenth in the

. He was the surprise

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 ...

list in the men's race 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 ...

and helped the Eritrean team (including

Samuel Tsegay Samuel Tsegay Tesfamriam (born 24 October 1988) is an Eritrean long-distance runner running for the Swedish track club Hälle IF and currently going through the process of acquiring Swedish citizenship, who specializes in the 5000 metres and 10 ...

and

Kidane Tadasse Kidane Tadesse Habtesilase (Tigrinya: ኪዳነ ታዳስሰ; born 1 January 1987) is an Eritrean long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. He was born in Adi Bana. As a junior, he competed in the junior races at t ...

) to another silver. During the track season, he set a new 5000 m best at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pie ...

in Rome but was a distant eighth in the 10,000 m at the

2010 African Championships in Athletics The 2010 African Championships in Athletics was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 28 July to 1 August 2010. Background The African Championships in Athletics were held in Kenya for the first time. Previously two major athletics events have been held i ...

. Turning back to cross country in November, he proved himself to be a top competitor on the surface: he won at the

Cross Internacional 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. ...

, defeating World Champion

Joseph Ebuya Joseph Ebuya (born 20 June 1987) is a Kenyan professional runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and was the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships champion. Early life and career Ebuya is a rare example of a runner representing the Tur ...

and European Champion

Alemayehu Bezabeh Alemayehu Bezabeh Desta ( Amharic: አለማየሁ በዛበህ ደስታ; born c. 1986) is an Ethiopian-born athlete who represents Spain internationally. He competes in middle- and long-distance running on the track, and also in cross country ...

, and then beat

Kidane Tadese Kidane Tadesse Habtesilase (Tigrinya: ኪዳነ ታዳስሰ; born 1 January 1987) is an Eritrean long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres. He was born in Adi Bana. As a junior, he competed in the junior races ...

both the

Oeiras Cross Country The Oeiras International Cross Country (''Portuguese: Crosse Internacional de Oeiras'') is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Oeiras, Portugal. Established in 2000, it is usually held in mid-November and is traditional ...

and

Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio The Cross Internacional Valle de Llodio is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Llodio in the Basque Country, Spain, around late November. The event was first held in February 1985 and changed to an end-of-year competiti ...

Ebuya broke his streak of wins at the

Cross Internacional de la Constitución Cross Internacional de la Constitución is an annual cross country running event which is held in early December in Alcobendas, Spain. The competition was first held in 1982 and began attracting top-level elite distance runners from the 1990s onwa ...

, where he was runner-up. 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 ...

he missed out on a medal as he finished in 14th place on that occasion. At the start of the track season he ran a 10,000 m best of 27:37.21 minutes at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...

. He suffered a narrow defeat to 17-year-old Hagos Gebrehiwot at the

San Silvestre Vallecana The San Silvestre Vallecana is an annual 10 km road race held on 31 December in Madrid, Spain since 1964. It has two editions: a fun run for amateur athletes and an elite race for professional athletes. In 2012, the race achieved its histo ...

at the end of the year. He was the silver medallist behind Clement Langat at the

2012 African Cross Country Championships The 2nd African Cross Country Championships was an international cross country running competition for African athletes which was held on 18 March 2012 in Cape Town's Keurboom Park in South Africa. Organised by the Confederation of African Athleti ...

and led Eritrea to second in the team competition. A personal best run of 27:16.69 minutes for the

at the

FBK Games The FBK Games is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1981. Its name honours Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold meda ...

earned him a place on the Eritrean Olympic team and he went on to finish seventh in the 10,000 m Olympic final. In that winter's cross country circuit he took wins at the Cross de Constitution and Cross de San Sebastian.Valiente, Emeterio (2012-11-26)
Medhin and Weldu breeze to Alcobendas victory
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-08-11.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medhin, Teklemariam 1989 births Living people Eritrean male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Eritrea People from Central Region (Eritrea) World Athletics Championships athletes for Eritrea