Yacob Jarso Kintra (born 5 February 1988) 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 ...

and former

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

r. He has represented Ethiopia at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. He became his country's first Olympic steeplechase finalist in 28 years and set an Ethiopian record (8:13.47 min) en route to fourth place. He has personal bests of 60:07 minutes for 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 ...

and 2:06:17 for the

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 ...

Career

Born in Assasa, in the

Arsi Zone Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone, ...

of Ethiopia, he began competing in distance events for the Prisons Police club and hoped to represent his country over

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 ...

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 jokingly made a small wager with friends over whether he could manage the steeplechase but he efforts resulted in a recommendation from a coach, he said that he had a gift for the event and should specialise in it.Negash, Elshadai (2008-08-19)
Ethiopian Jarso breaks 28-year-old national steeplechase record

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 2010-11-27. His first international medal came at the 2007

African Junior Championships in Athletics The African Junior Athletics Championships is a biennial continental athletics event for junior athletes from African nations. Organized by the Confederation of African Athletics and first held in 1994, only athletes aged 19 or under are allowed t ...

, where he took the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, a ...

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

Abel Mutai Abel Kiprop Mutai (born 2 October 1988) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He was born in Nandi. He won the gold medal at the 2005 World Youth Championships, a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Ol ...

. Mutai noted that Jarso represented a challenge to Kenyan dominance of the event: "These Ethiopians are now challenging us in steeplechase. This is serious...I was never going to let an Ethiopian beat us in this event". Jarso moved to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

around early 2008 and began competing on the circuit under the Honda corporate athletics stable, taking a win at the Hyogo Relays in April that year. He gained the third steeplechase berth on the Ethiopian team for the

, alongside the more experienced Nahom Mesfin Tariku and

Roba Gari Roba Gari ( Amharic: ሮባ ጋር; born 12 April 1982) is an Ethiopian runner, who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He finished tenth at the 2007 World Championships, in his major international debut. His personal best ...

. While his compatriots were eliminated in the heats, Jarso won his qualifying race in a personal best of 8:16.88 to reach the final. He became the first Ethiopian to make the Olympic steeplechase final since

Eshetu Tura Eshetu Tura ( am, አሸቱ ቱራ; (born January 19, 1950) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance runner from Ethiopia. He won the bronze medal in 3,000 metres steeplechase at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Career Tura won a silver medal beh ...

, who won the bronze at the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. Jarso was among the leaders for much of the final but slowed at the last hurdle and came in fourth place. He was initially disappointed with the performance, but was satisfied upon learning that his run of 8:13.47 had broken Tura's Ethiopian record for the event, a mark which had stood since the Olympic final in Moscow twenty-eight years earlier. He received the honour of "Warden" from the Police Prisons club for his achievements. He returned to Japan and began to take on longer distances, recording the third best time on his leg of the New Year Ekiden and beat

Josephat Ndambiri Josephat Muchiri Ndambiri (born 12 February 1985) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He represented his country at the World Championships in Athletics in 2007. He is based in Japan and trains with PACE Sports Management. He moved to Japan as a te ...

to win the 10,000 m at the Hyogo Relays. A steeplechase win in 8:17.12 at a meet in

Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the city ...

was enough to earn him a chance to represent his country at the

. Roba Gary had beaten his national record in the month before the event but Jarso finished ahead of him again on the global stage, pipping him to fifth place with a new personal best run of 8:12.13 minutes. Upon returning to his training camp in Japan, he ran a 10,000 m best of 27:30.08 – a mark which ranked him in the top twenty runners over the distance that season. He moved away from the steeplechase in 2010 and won a 15K road race in

Le-Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its cat ...

. He was selected to run 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 ...

and he finished in fifth place – the only Ethiopian to finish the race. At the

Delhi Half Marathon Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Rac ...

in November, he made his debut over the distance and managed a podium finish, taking third in a time of 1:00:07 behind compatriot

Lelisa Desisa Lelisa Desisa Benti (born 14 January 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. Desisa gained his first international medal at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, where he took the 10,00 ...

. He was the runner-up at the 2011 Ethiopian 15K Championships in February, finishing behind

Deriba Merga Deriba Merga Ejigu ( am, ደርባ መርጋ አጅጉ; born 26 October 1980) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. He mainly competes in the marathon. He finished fourth in that event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and went on to win ...

He stepped up to the 20K distance for the

Marseille-Cassis Classic The Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale is an annual half marathon which follows a course from Marseille to Cassis in France during the last weekend in October. It has the silver label of the IAAF Road Race Label Events and is thus among the ...

in October and came fourth overall. Yacob made his marathon debut at the 2012 Beppu-Oita Marathon in Japan and was leading after 27 km, but fell back to finish in third place with a time of 2:11:13 hours. He won the

Stramilano The Stramilano is an annual athletics event which takes place in Milan, Italy in spring. The event comprises three parts: the Stramilano International Half Marathon (a professional road running competition over 21.0975 km), the La Stramilano d ...

half marathon with a time of 1:01:07 hours, just beating Italy's Andrea Lalli. He ran at the

Florence Marathon The Florence Marathon ( it, Maratona di Firenze) is an annual full-length marathon race held in late November in Florence, Italy, since 1984. History Established in 1984, the international competition has significantly grown in size since its ina ...

, but was slower than on his debut, finishing fifth. He failed to finish at the

Seoul International Marathon The Seoul International Marathon, also known as the ''Dong-A Ilbo Seoul Marathon or Seoul Marathon'' is an annual marathon race that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of two annual races over the 42.195 km classic distance in the ...

in March 2013, but rebounded a month later to win the

Yangzhou Jianzhen International Half Marathon The Yangzhou Jianzhen International Half Marathon (Chinese: 扬州鉴真国际半程马拉松赛) is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance which takes place in April in Yangzhou, People's Republic of China. The event ...

. He entered the

in December, but failed to finish.Yacob Jarso
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-03-21. Yacob made a breakthrough at the

at the start of 2014: he became the first Ethiopian winner of the long-running event and greatly improved his best to 2:06:17 hours.Minshull, Phil (2014-03-16)
Jarso smashes personal best with 2:06:17 to win in Seoul
IAAF. Retrieved on 2014-03-21.

Personal bests

1500 metres 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 ...

– 3:38.54 (2009) *

– 13:19.20 (2009) *

– 27:30.08 (2009) *

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

– 27:57 (2010) *

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 ...

– 1:00:07 (2010) *

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 ...

– 2:06:17 (2014) *

– 8:12.13 (2009)

Competition record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarso, Yacob 1988 births Living people Ethiopian male long-distance runners Ethiopian male steeplechase runners Ethiopian male marathon runners Sportspeople from Oromia Region Olympic athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics 20th-century Ethiopian people 21st-century Ethiopian people