Genzeb Shumi Regasa (also known as ''Genzebe Shami Regassa'', born 29 January 1991) is an

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n-born

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 competes internationally for

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

. She won 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 ...

gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2011 and the

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The Asian Indoor Athletics Championships were held for the first time in 2004. Run by the Asian Athletics Association, the championships take place biennially in different cities all over Asia.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 th ...

and 4:05.16 minutes for the 1500 m.

Career

Born in Ethiopia, she began running for Bahrain in 2010, making her debut in the junior 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 finishing seventeenth. She broke the national junior records for 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 th ...

and

events that year. She won the 1500 m title at the

2010 Asian Junior Athletics Championships The 2010 Asian Junior Athletics Championships was the 14th edition of the international athletics competition for Asian under-20 athletes, organised by the Asian Athletics Association. It took place from 1 to 4 July 2010 at the My Dinh National S ...

and was runner-up in the

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 ...

event. She ran on the global stage at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athle ...

a few weeks later and after running a Bahraini junior record of 4:14.05 minutes in the heats, she was slower in the 1500 m final and finished tenth. She set an 800 m junior record of 2:04.09 minutes in the heats at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several event ...

, but was again slower in the final, taking eighth place. She marked herself out as one of the regions top runners in 2011. Moving into the senior ranks at the age of twenty, she placed 30th 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 ran a 1500 m best of 4:11.27 minutes in

Tomblaine Tomblaine () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Stage 7 of the Tour de France on 7 July 2012 started in Tomblaine. The Stade Marcel Picot, football stadium to Ligue 1 side AS Nancy, is located within th ...

in June.Shumi Genzeb
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-05-24. She won that event at the

2011 Asian Athletics Championships The 19th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Kobe, Japan between July 7–10, 2011 at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium. The tournament had 507 athletes from forty Asian nations competing in the 42 track and field events over the four- ...

the following month (her first regional title) and also placed fifth in the 800 m. In

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

2011 Military World Games The 2011 Military World Games ( pt, Jogos Mundiais Militares de 2011), officially known as the 5th CISM Military World Games ( pt, V Jogos Mundiais Militares do CISM), was hosted from July 15–24, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 5th Military ...

, she was the 1500 m bronze medalist. Genzeb was one of three Ethiopian-born Bahrainis to be entered into the women's 1500 m 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 ...

alongside

Mimi Belete Mimi Belete Gebregeiorges (born 9 June 1988) is an Ethiopian-born middle and long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain. She won the 5000 metres title at the 2010 Asian Games. She moved to Belgium as a political refugee alon ...

and defending champion

Maryam Yusuf Jamal Maryam Yusuf Jamal ( ar, مريم يوسف جمال; om, Maryam Yuusuf Jamaal) (born Zenebech Tola) (born 16 September 1984) is an Ethiopian-born Bahraini middle-distance runner. She is the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic medal, a gold ...

. She was eliminated in the heats stage, however, in her first major world track appearance. She returned to regional competition at the end of the year, winning a middle distance double at the

Arab Athletics Championships The Arab Athletics Championships is an event organized by the Arab Athletic Association. It traditionally occurred every two years. It was not held in 1985 due to the schedule clash with the Pan Arab Games. However, due to the erratic scheduling ...

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is bordered to the east by the Omani ...

and taking the 800 m silver and 1500 m gold medals at the

2011 Pan Arab Games The 2011 Pan Arab Games also known as the 12th Pan Arab Games took place in Doha, Qatar from 6 to 23 December 2011. This was the first time that the country had hosted the multi-sport event. Khalifa International Stadium was the main venue for th ...

. She collected further medals at the

2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The 2012 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships was the fifth edition of the international indoor athletics event between Asian nations. It took place at the Vocational and Technical College Athletics Hall in Hangzhou, China, between 18 and 19 Feb ...

, taking the 1500 m title and finishing second to Zhao Jing in the 800 m. Following this she won her first cross country medal at the Asian Championship meet, taking third place in a Bahraini podium sweep with

Shitaye Eshete Shitaye Eshete Habtegebrel (born 21 May 1990) is an Ethiopian-born long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain. Debut She first began competing for the oil-rich Gulf state in 2009, making her debut at the Asian Cross Country ...

and

Tejitu Daba Tejitu Daba Chalchissa (born 20 August 1991) is an Ethiopian-born long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain. She competes mainly in cross country and track running events. She won the gold medal over 5000 metres at the 201 ...

. She ran in the 800 m and 1500 m 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 ...

, reaching the semifinals of the 800 m.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shumi, Genzeb Living people 1991 births Bahraini female middle-distance runners Ethiopian female middle-distance runners Ethiopian emigrants to Bahrain Naturalized citizens of Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Bahrain