Hiwot Ayalew Yimer (Amharic: ህይወት ፡ አያሌው ; born 6 March 1990) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner whose speciality is the 3000 metres steeplechase. She represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing fifth. Born in

Gojjam Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical province in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. Gojjam's earliest western boundary ex ...

, she is the younger sister of

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 s ...

, a medallist at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. Hiwot made her first impact in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

in 2010. She came third over 5000 metres at the Ethiopian Championships then won the Addis Ababa Cross Country race in December. She opened 2011 with a win at the Cross Ouest-France in Le Mans, France. Running for the

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) is the largest commercial bank in Ethiopia. As of June 2021, it had about 1.1 trillion birr in assets and held approximately 67% of deposits and about 53% of all bank loans in the country. The bank has arou ...

, she took second place at the Jan Meda Cross Country in 2011 which gained her a place on the national team. In her first international appearance she finished eleventh in the women's senior race at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She competed on the

2011 IAAF Diamond League The 2011 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2011 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 6 May in Doha, Q ...

track circuit and established herself further. She ran a 5000 m best of 14:49.36 minutes for eighth at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bisl ...

then came seventh 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 Diamon ...

. Visa issues meant she arrived hours before the start of the

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 ...

, but she proved herself in the steeplechase with a personal best of 9:23.88 minutes to take second place behind Milcah Chemos Cheywa. Although she missed a place at the World Championships, she was present for the 2011 All-Africa Games and won the silver medal in the steeplechase behind Kenya's Hyvin Jepkemoi, being edged out at the line by a fraction of a second. Following her track season, she had fourth-place finishes 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 ...

10K road race and the Cross de Atapuerca. At the start of 2012, she finished as the runner-up behind her sister at the Elgoibar Cross Country. A win at the national championships earned her a spot 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 Olympic steeplechase final. She also performed well 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, having top three placings 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 Weltklasse Zurich meets. At the end of the year she won the Cross de Atapuerca. She won at the 2013

Jan Meda International Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...

to gain selection for Ethiopia at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.Negash, Elshadai (2013-02-24)
Lilesa and Ayalew capture impressive wins at Ethiopian Cross Trials
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-02. At the 2013 World Championship, she finished in 4th place, and 6th two years later in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. In 2014, she won the African Championship in the 3000 metres.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayalew, Hiwot 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from Amhara Region Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia African Games silver medalists for Ethiopia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games Diamond League winners 21st-century Ethiopian women