Zemzem Ahmed Deko (born December 27, 1984, in

Asella Asella ( om, Asallaa, ʾÄsäla, am, አሰላ) is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region south from Addis Ababa, this town has a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 2,430 meters. Asella hosts an ...

) is an Ethiopian

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 ...

runner and road runner. She emerged as one of Ethiopia's top steeplechasers, and had broken her own personal records three times in 2007. Zemzem represented

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

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 ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and competed in the women's 3000 m steeplechase, along with her teammates Sofia Assefa and

Mekdes Bekele Mekdes Bekele Tadese ( Amharic: መቅደስ በቀለ ታደሰ; born 20 January 1987) is an Ethiopian runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase. Competition record Personal bests * 3000 metres steeplechase - 9:32.05 min (2007) ...

. She ran in the third heat of the competition, where she finished in fourth place and automatically advanced into the final, with a personal best time of 9:25.63. She bettered her performance in the final round, and set a national record, with a time of 9:17.85, just eight seconds faster than her own personal best, finishing only in seventh place. She returned to the global stage at 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 ...

and finished tenth in the steeplechase with a run of 9:22.64 minutes. She did not compete in the 2010 and 2011 seasons and re-emerged in 2012 with a renewed focus as a long-distance road runner. She ran a personal best of 2:27:12 hours 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 ...

in October, placing sixth at the high-profile

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

.Butcher, Pat (2012-10-28)
Patience pays for Makau in Frankfurt, debut win for Melkamu
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-11. A

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 ...

best of 73:31 minutes followed at the Zhuhai Half Marathon, where she was third. She improved this to 73:25 minutes at the 2013

Houston Half Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

References

External links

*
Profile – Elite Sports Management International
Living people 1984 births Ethiopian female steeplechase runners Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners Olympic athletes of Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia 21st-century Ethiopian women {{Ethiopia-athletics-bio-stub