Dawit Wolde (born 19 May 1991) is an Ethiopian

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 15 ...

who specialises in the

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 Athle ...

. A medallist at the World Youth Championships and the

African Junior Athletics Championships The African Junior Athletics Championships is a biennial continental athletics event for junior athletes from African nations. Organized by the Confederation of African Athletics The Confederation of African Athletics (CAA; French: ''Confédérat ...

, he has represented Ethiopia at the

African Championships in Athletics The African Championships in Athletics is a continental athletics event organized by the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the continental association for the sport in Africa. Since its inaugural edition in 1979 it was at first organise ...

and the All-Africa Games. He was chosen to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics and

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

. His 1500 m personal best is 3:33.82 minutes.

Career

Born in Debre Zeyit in Ethiopia's

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benis ...

, he came to international prominence as a teenager with a bronze medal at the 2007 World Youth Championships in Athletics and a silver at the

2007 African Junior Athletics Championships The 2007 African Junior Athletics Championships was the eighth edition of the biennial, continental athletics tournament for African athletes aged 19 years or younger. It was held in Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest ...

. He set a personal best of 3:41.25 minutes for the 1500 m that year at the

Meeting Iberoamericano The Meeting Iberoamericano de Atletismo () is an annual track and field meeting held at the Estadio Iberoamericano in Huelva, Spain since 2005 by the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation. It is typically held in mid-June. The name of the meeting ste ...

. He ran at the

2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2008 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz in Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium between 8 and 13 July 2008. Previously Bydgoszcz hosted ...

but was eliminated in the first round. Dawit knocked nearly five seconds off his best in 2009. He won the Josef Odlozil Memorial 1500 m, took bronze at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships, and closed the season with a best of 3:36.74 minutes at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. A third-place finish in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since t ...

at the 2010 Ethiopian Athletics Championships led to an appearance in that event at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics, where he was a semi-finalist. He had top three finishes on the 2011 European

track and field 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 eve ...

circuit, highlighted by a run of 3:34.13 minutes in

Oordegem Lede () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders, in the Denderstreek near the cities of Ghent, Aalst and Dendermonde. In 2011, Lede had a population of 17,882 and area of 29.69 km², a population density of 575 inhabitan ...

. He was a 1500 m finalist at the 2011 All-Africa Games, but did not finish in the final. He had a successful debut 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 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 ...

distance at the 2012

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 ...

, breaking a thirteen-year-old course record with a time of 60:46 minutes. He was less successful at the Prague Half Marathon, coming eighth, but his 1500 m performances improved: he ran 3:33.82 minutes at the

FBK Games The FBK Games is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1981. Its name honours Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold med ...

and set a

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

best of 3:57.48 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 ...

. As the second fastest Ethiopian that season, he was chosen for 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 ...

. In 2015 he competed at the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the 1500 m. In 2016, he reached the final of the 1500 m at the World Indoor Championship, finishing in 5th place. That year, he also reached the semifinals of the 1500m at the 2016 Olympics.

Personal bests

: 1:48.80 min (2010) *

: 3:33.82 min (2012) *

Mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

: 3:54.02 min (2016) * 3000 metres: 7:42.65 min (2011) *

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 ...

: 59.58 min (2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolde, Dawit Living people 1991 births Ethiopian male middle-distance runners Ethiopian male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Oromia Region World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia 21st-century Ethiopian people