Atelaw Yeshetela Bekele (born 4 December 1987) is an Ethiopian-born

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 internationally for Belgium. He was the winner at the

European Cross Country Championships The European Cross Country Championships is an annual international cross country running competition. Organised by the European Athletic Association, it is the area championships for the region and is held in December each year. The championships ...

in 2011. Bekele's personal bests on the track are 13:43.20 minutes for the

5000 meters 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 stand ...

, and 29:47.60 minutes for the

10,000 meters 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 is not related to Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele.

Career

Having moved to Belgium at the age of sixteen,Biographical Data - Atelaw Bekele
European Athletics. Retrieved on 2011-12-11. he became a naturalised citizen of Belgium in November 2008. His first international appearance for his adopted country came at the

2008 European Cross Country Championships The 15th European Cross Country Championships were held at Brussels in Belgium on 14 December 2008. Serhiy Lebid took his eighth title in the men's competition and Hilda Kibet won the women's race. Results Men individual 10.0 km Total 77 c ...

. He ran in the under-23 section of the competition, but failed to finish the race. He had his first

track running Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

season in 2009, setting a

personal best at the Belgian Championships with a time of 29:47.60 minutes for second place. He gained selection in that event for the

2009 European Athletics U23 Championships The 7th European Athletics U23 Championships were held between 16 and 19 July 2009 in the S. Darius and S. Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas, Lithuania. Complete results and medal winners were published. Men's results Women's results Medal ta ...

, but again failed to finish on the international stage. Returning to the cross country running circuit, he had his first successes: he won the

Lotto Cross Cup The Lotto Cross Cup is an annual series of international cross country running competitions in Belgium. The inaugural season was in 1982–1983. The series comprises Belgium's foremost cross country competitions, including the IAAF permit meeting in ...

race in Mol and went on to claim the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the under-23 race at the

2009 European Cross Country Championships The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that was held on 13 December 2009 near Dublin city, Fingal in Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first tim ...

.Atelaw Yeshetela Bekele
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2011-12-11. In 2010 he competed on the global stage for the first time. Running as a senior, he was Belgium's only entrant 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 he was 94th overall. He also represented Belgium at the European Cup 10000m, placing 14th in his race. In the winter cross country season, he reached the podium at the Warandeloop and CrossCup Mol races. He suffered an injury prior to the

2010 European Cross Country Championships The 2010 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that took place on 12 December in Albufeira, Portugal. It was the second time that the country hosted the event, building upon the 1997 edition hel ...

, where he went on to finish 54th. A significant personal best of 13:43.20 minutes over

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

in May 2011 marked the beginning of an improvement in Atelaw's running. After high-altitude training in Ethiopia, he returned to Europe and won the Lotto CrossCup Roeselare race. At the

2011 European Cross Country Championships The 2011 European Cross Country Championships was the 18th edition of the cross country running competition for European athletes which was held in Velenje, Slovenia on 11 December. Atelaw Yeshetela of Belgium won the men's title to become the ...

he seized the lead after 2 km by increasing the pace and was never challenged thereafter, taking 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 ...

five seconds ahead of runner-up Ayad Lamdassem. He was the top European behind Kenya's

Isiah Koech Isiah Kiplangat Koech (born 19 December 1993) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the 5000 metres. At the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics in Brixen, Italy, Koech won a gold medal over 3000 metres, setting a new wor ...

at the Lotto Cross Cup Brussels meet later that month. He ran at the 2012 Great Edinburgh Cross Country and was third in the long race.Wenig, Jorg (2012-01-07)
Kiprop triumphs in race of champions, Bekele a distant 11th - Edinburgh XC report
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-01-08.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeshetela, Atelaw Living people 1987 births Belgian male long-distance runners Ethiopian male long-distance runners Naturalised citizens of Belgium European Cross Country Championships winners