Dejen Gebremeskel (born 24 November 1989) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who primarily competes in track events. His personal best of 12:46.81 minutes for the 5000 metres ranks him as the fifth fastest of all time for the distance. He was the 5000 m silver medallist at 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 took the bronze medal over that distance 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 ...

. He won his first track medals as a junior, coming second at 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 ...

, then taking the bronze medal 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 ...

. He was a finalist at the

IAAF World Indoor Championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

in 2010 and 2012. He is a five-time winner of the Carlsbad 5000.

Career

Junior career

Dejen Gebremeskel grew up in the rural setting of Ethiopia's Gulo-Makeda

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

and took up

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

as a child, representing his school. He began competing around the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray ...

and after establishing himself in local races, he moved to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

to train with the national team. He won his first international medal 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 ...

, taking the silver medal over 5000 metres behind

Mathew Kisorio Mathew Kipkoech Kisorio (born 16 May 1989) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in road running and cross country running competitions. He has a half marathon best of 58:46 minutes (making him the third fastest ever) and a mar ...

. He had also competed abroad for the first time that year, running a personal best of 13:21.05 minutes to take sixth in the 5000 m at the Flanders Cup meeting in

Brasschaat Brasschaat () is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Brasschaat proper. In November 2006, Brasschaat won the LivCom-Award 200 ...

.Gebremeskel Dejen
IAAF. Retrieved on 4 September 2011. He ran for Ethiopia at the

International Chiba Ekiden The International Chiba Ekiden was an annual team road running competition held in Chiba, Japan in late November. The marathon relay race, or ekiden as it is known in Japan, is one of the prominent annual races of its kind. The competition is spl ...

in 2008 and helped the team to victory, running the fastest time for his leg of the road relay. 3000 m Birmingham indoor 2010

Representing the Ethiopian Banks team, he won the junior title at the 2007 Addis Ababa cross country race, beating

Hunegnaw Mesfin Hunegnaw Mesfin (born 31 January 1989) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes in cross country and track running events. He has represented his country at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won medals in the s ...

by a second. He was fourth in the junior category at the 2008 Ethiopian Cross Country Championships and was selected for the

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 30, 2008. The races were held at the Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All race ...

, where he finished 18th (just outside the Ethiopian team which won the silver medal). Back on the track, he ran at the Adidas Track Classic in May and set a new personal best of 13:08.96 minutes, second only to

Ali Abdosh Ali Abdosh Mohammed (Amharic: አሊ አብዶሽ; born 25 August 1987) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres, cross-country running and road running. He won the bronze medal at the 2008 African Championships, ...

. He was among the fastest entrants at the

and took the 5000 m bronze medal while his compatriot

Abreham Cherkos Abreham Cherkos Feleke ( Amharic: አብረሃም ቸርቆስ ፈለቀ; born 23 September 1989) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. A former track specialist, he now competes in road running events including the marathon. He ...

won the gold.

Start of senior career

At the 2009 Ethiopian cross country trials in February, he came in third place. His main focus for the year was on track races and he had a successful transition into the senior ranks, winning at the Adidas Track Classic in May then improved his 5000 m best to 13:03.13 min by taking third at the Reebok Grand Prix in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he was beaten only by Olympic medalists

Micah Kogo Micah Kemboi Kogo (born 3 June 1986 in Burnt Forest, Uasin Gishu District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in the 10,000 metres. He is the former world record holder in the 10 kilometres road race event with a time of ...

and Bernard Lagat. He ran a 3000 metres best of 7:58.69 m 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 ...

and came fourth at that year's

London Grand Prix The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Di ...

. Dejen competed indoors for the first time the following year and was second at the Boston Indoor Games behind Lagat. He was also the runner-up at the

Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix The Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as Aviva Indoor Grand Prix, is an annual indoor track and field competition which is held in mid-February at the Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England. It is one of a handful of events to hold I ...

two weeks later and was selected to represent Ethiopia over 3000 m at the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation ...

. He ran the second fastest qualifying time (a personal best of 7:44.26 min), but did not perform as well in the event final, coming tenth. Outdoors, he was second at the Carlsbad 5000, the Prefontaine Classic, and the DN Galan (at which he ran a personal best of 12:53.56 min for the 5000 m).

World and Olympic medals

He continued to focus on the track in 2011 and at the

New Balance Indoor Grand Prix The New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as the Boston Indoor Games, is an annual indoor track and field meet which is held in late January or early February at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. It was first held in Roxbury, a ...

he defeated

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

in unusual circumstances – Dejen lost a shoe on the first lap of the race, but he persisted and won in a time of 7:35.37 minutes, one of the fastest 3000 m runs that year. He debuted over the 10K road distance later that month and was runner-up to

Sammy Kitwara Sammy Kirop Kitwara (born 26 November 1986 in Sagat, Marakwet District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running events. He is coached by Moses Kiptanui. As of January 2020 he is the 12th fastest half marathon runner in ...

at the World's Best 10K with a time of 27:45 min. He won the Carlsbad 5K race in April, holding off

Eliud Kipchoge Eliud Kipchoge ( ; born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 O ...

, and took his first win on the Diamond League circuit with a victory at the Adidas Grand Prix in

. A run of 12:55.89 min at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Piet ...

made him Ethiopia's second fastest 5000 m runner that season and he was selected for the national team for the

. He comfortably progressed through the qualifying round and the 5000 m final came down to a four-way battle between himself, Farah, Lagat and

Imane Merga Imane Merga Jida (ኢማነ መርጋ ጂዳ) (born 15 October 1988) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres. He won his first world title at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships ...

. He was the last of the quartet to cross the line, but Imane Merga was disqualified after the medal ceremony as he had run outside of the track lanes. Dejen was promoted to the bronze medal, repeating his placing from the junior ranks three years previously. Dejen improved his 3000 m best to 7:34.14 minutes at the XL Galan, but was a little slower at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fou ...

, placing fifth in the event.Focus on Athletes – Dejen Gebremeskel, Ethiopia
. IAAF (10 August 2012). Retrieved on 2013-04-08. He won the Carlsbad 5000 for a second year running in March 2012. Two 5000 m wins on the

2012 IAAF Diamond League The 2012 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2012 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the third edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 11 May in Doha, Q ...

circuit, including a personal best of 12:46.81 minutes, making him the fifth fastest ever over the distance and earning him selection for the 2012 Summer Olympics. At the Olympics in London, he was the fastest qualifier in winning his heat. In the final he chased

over the final lap, but did not managed to catch the Briton and took the silver medal behind him. He ended the year with a fourth-place finish at the Weltklasse Zurich, finishing second in the Diamond League rankings after Isaiah Kiplangat Koech. A third straight win at the Carlsbad race opened his outdoor season in 2013.Third win in a row for Gebremeskel, Burka makes Ethiopian double in Carlsbad
IAAF (8 April 2013). Retrieved on 2013-04-08. At the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

, Gebremeskel finished 16th in the 10,000 metres in a time of 27.51.88. In 2013, Gebremeskel held the world leading time for

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 ...

of 26:51.02, which he set at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sollentuna, Sweden. Capping off his 2014 indoor season, Gebremeskel scored a bronze medal in the 3000 metres with a time of 7:55.39 at the

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepa ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Gebremeskel went on to win his fourth straight Carlsbad 5000 race in 13:13, this time over American rival Bernard Lagat.

Major competition record

Personal bests

;Outdoor * 3000 metres – 7:51.02 min (2009) * 5000 metres – 12:46.81 min (2012) * 10000 metres – 26:51.02 min (2013) *5 kilometres (road) – 13:11 min (2011) * 10 kilometres (road) – 27:45 min (2011) ;Indoor *3000 metres – 7:34.14 min (2012) *5000 metres – 13:11.78 min (2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gebremeskel, Dejen Living people 1989 births Ethiopian male long-distance runners Sportspeople from Tigray Region Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Ethiopia Olympic silver medalists for Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) 20th-century Ethiopian people 21st-century Ethiopian people