Belaynesh Oljira Jemama ( am, በላይነሽ ኦልጂራ, born 26 June 1990) is an Ethiopian

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 in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

who competes mainly in 10K and

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 represented her country at the

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, th ...

, the 2013 World Championships and the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2011 and 2013.

Career

Born in

Welega Welega (also spelled Wollega; ; am, ወለጋ) was a Provinces of Ethiopia, province in western Ethiopia, with its capital city at Nekemte. It was named for the Wollega Oromo, who are the majority of the population within its boundaries. Weleg ...

in Ethiopia, she demonstrated her potential as an endurance runner with a third-place finish 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 ...

. She began competing on the European circuit the following year and won the Le Mans Cross Country race before placing second at the European Clubs Cross Country Cup. She ran at

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

meetings that summer and set a

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

best of 8:40.73 minutes at the

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world re ...

meet and a personal best time of 14:58.16 minutes for 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 s ...

at the

Meeting Areva Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diam ...

. Belaynesh found success on the roads that year, having runner-up finishes at the 10 km du Conseil Général and Marseille-Cassis Classic, a third place in the

Zhuhai Half Marathon Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pe ...

, and a win at the

Nice Half Marathon The Nice Half Marathon (french: Semi-marathon international de Nice) is an annual road running competition over 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 eve ...

(where she set a best of 1:10:22 hours).Belaynesh Oljira
. Elite Sports Management International. Retrieved on 2011-07-02. She ended the year with a third place at the Sao Silvestre de Luanda in Angola. Representing Ethiopia's Commercial Bank team, she came third at the

Jan Meda Cross Country The Jan Meda International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition held at the Jan Meda Race Course in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Typically held in January or February, the event serves as the national championship for Ethiopia a ...

in February 2011 and earned herself a spot for the Ethiopian world team. 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 Unit ...

, she came tenth in the women's senior race and took a share in the team

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, et ...

alongside

Meselech Melkamu Meselech Melkamu born 27 April 1985 in Debre Marqos) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 metres gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships, but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run o ...

Wude Ayalew Wude Ayalew Yimer (Amharic: ውዴ ፡ አያሌው ፡ ይመር; born 4 July 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. She was the bronze medallist over 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and took the sil ...

and

Genzebe Dibaba Genzebe Dibaba Keneni ( Oromo: ''Ganzabee Dibaabaa Qananii''; Amharic: ገንዘቤ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 8 February 1991) is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold med ...

. Turning to the track, she won the

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 ...

title at the

Ethiopian Athletics Championships The Ethiopian Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Ethiopia. The competition was first held in 1971.< ...

. She then set a personal best of 31:17.80 minutes for that event 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 interr ...

meet and placed third at the

World 10K Bangalore The World 10K Bengaluru (known as the TCS World 10K Bengaluru for sponsorship (commercial), sponsorship reasons by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)) is an annual 10 kilometres road running competition which takes place in Bangalore, India. ...

behind

Dire Tune Dire Tune Arissi (pronounced "Deer-ay Too-nay"; Ge'ez: ዲሬ ቱኔ, born 19 June 1985) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. Tune competed in the marathon at the 2005 World Championships. At the 2006 World Road Running Champi ...

and Merima Mohammed. She was selected for the Ethiopian team at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

, but ultimately did not compete. In November she was runner-up to

Linet Masai Linet Chepkwemoi Masai (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. She won her first world title in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athlet ...

at the

Cross de Atapuerca The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca (town), Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cros ...

race, then ran a new best of 1:07:27 hours 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 ...

, finishing in fourth place. Her first race of 2012 saw her win the

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 ...

with a course record time of 1:08:26 hours (also a Texas state record). She greatly improved her

track best 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 Universi ...

in June, running a time of 30:26.70 minutes to take third place. This gained her a place on the Ethiopian team for the

2012 London 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 ...

and she managed to finish fifth in the 10,000 metres final. She made a step up in distance to 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 ...

at the start of 2013 and came fifth at the

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 ...

with her debut run of 2:25:01 hours. At the 2013 World Championships, she won the bronze in the 10,000 m, having also won bronze in the 2013 World Cross Country Championships. In October 2014 she won the 10K Great South Run in Portsmouth UK. She finished in 9th at the 2015 World Cross Country Championship.

Personal bests

- 14:42.57 min (Oregon, 2016) *

- 30:26.70 min (Oregon, 2012) *10 km (road) - 31:07 min (Marseilles, 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 shortcut ...

- 1:07:27 hrs (New Delhi, 2011) *

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 ...

- 2:21:53 hours (Frankfurt, 2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oljira, Belaynesh Living people 1990 births Ethiopian female long-distance runners Sportspeople from Oromia Region Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ethiopia World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists 21st-century Ethiopian women 21st-century Ethiopian people