Abebech Afework Bekele (born 11 December 1990) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who specialises

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 shortcut ...

races. She has represented Ethiopia 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 ...

and the

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It ...

. She was the 2011 winner of 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 ...

. Her personal best for the distance is 1:10:30 hours. She first began competing abroad in 2009, taking third at the

Udine Half Marathon The Udine Half Marathon ( it, Maratonina Udine) is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance (21.1 km/13.1 mi) which takes place in late September in Udine, Italy. The competition is organised by the Associazione Marat ...

in a time of 1:11:15 hours and running a

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 ra ...

best of 32:52.67 minutes in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

. She also won the smaller Arezzo Half Marathon race that year. She had her first international call-ups the following year, coming 18th in the senior 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 in ...

and 14th at the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Nanning. At the

Zwolle Half Marathon Zwolle Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running event held in Zwolle, Netherlands, in June. The race was first held in 2001 and attracts both amateur and professional runners. Over 3000 people took part in the 2008 edition of the race. ...

she ran a personal best of 1:10:49 hours for the distance, coming in as runner-up behind

Caroline Kilel Caroline Cheptanui Kilel (born 21 March 1981) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. She was the winner at the 2011 Boston Marathon and the Frankfurt Marathon in 2010 and 2013. Kilel took the silver medal ...

. She was also runner-up at the

Great Ethiopian Run The Great Ethiopian Run ( am, ታላቁ ሩጫ በኢትዮጵያ) is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Overview The competition was first envisioned by neighbors Ethiopian runn ...

at the end of the year, behind

Sule Utura Gedo Sule Utura (born 8 February 1990 in Bore, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian middle distance and long distance runner. She won the 5000 metres at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics and was third place in the 3000 metres at the ...

. In January 2011 she won the

Running for the Ethiopian Defence running club, she came fourth in the 10,000 m at the national championships then ran a personal best of 32:05.06 minutes at the

Golden Spike Ostrava Golden Spike ( cz, Zlatá tretra) is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interru ...

later that month. In September she turned back to the roads and came third at the

Dam tot Damloop Dam tot Damloop (''Dam to Dam Run'' in English) is an annual road running competition held in North Holland in the Netherlands. It is a Silver Label 10-mile race from Amsterdam to Zaandam. The event was first held as a fun run event in 1985 and ...

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan, just north of Amsterdam. The statistical district Zaand ...

then won the

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 ...

in a personal best of 1:10:30 hours. She returned to the Great Ethiopian 10K in November and improved one place to take the title, beating established marathon runners in

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 ...

and Atsede Habtamu. She then defeated the reigning world marathon champion

Edna Kiplagat Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat (born 15 November 1979) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and N ...

to win at the

Montferland Run Pfixx Solar Montferland Run is an annual 15-kilometres road running competition held in 's-Heerenberg, Montferland, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1996 and typically takes place on the first Sunday in December. Unlike many elite level road ...

15K. She placed sixth at the 2012 African Cross Country Championships and set a

best of 31:48.53 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 ...

. In July she placed third at the

Bogotá Half Marathon The Bogotá International Half Marathon ( es, Media Maratón Internacional de Bogotá), or mmB as it is traditionally known, is an annual road running competition over a half marathon distance () taking place in Bogotá, Colombia in late July ...

. She failed to make it into the top five at either the Lille Half Marathon or

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 ...

. She opened 2013 with a marathon debut and managed eighth place at the fast

Dubai Marathon The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. History Initial era The inaugural Dubai Marathon was held ...

, recording a time of 2:27:08 hours. She gave a better performance at the 2013

Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes ...

, placing second behind

Jemima Sumgong Jemima Jelagat Sumgong (born 21 December 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner specialising in marathon races. She has won the London, Rotterdam and Las Vegas Marathons, and has finished runner-up at the Boston, Chicago and New York City Ma ...

with a time of 2:23:59 hours.van Hemert, Wim (2013-04-14)
Regassa and Jelagat triumph in Rotterdam
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-04-18.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Afework, Abebech Living people 1990 births Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners