Meselech Melkamu (born 19 April 1985) 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 over 10,000 metres in 2009, which until August 2016 ranked her second on the all-time list behind world record holder Wang Junxia. She is one of seven women in history to break the 30-minute barrier and one of four Ethiopians to accomplish the feat.Women's 10,000 all-time list, 28 June 2017, accessed 5 July 2017

Melkamu was born in Debre Marqos. Since 2012, she has competed in road races. She won the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon in a course record and personal best of 2:21:01 hours.

Career She made her breakthrough in the junior ranks in 2004 by winning the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and taking the 5000 metres title at the World Junior Championships in Athletics. She just missed the senior medals in 2005, taking fourth in the short race at the World Cross Country Championships and fourth in the 5000 metres at the World Championships.

Her first major medals as a senior athlete came the following year as Melkamu won bronze medals in both the long and short races at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (also winning two team golds). She went on to win the 10 kilometres Great Ireland Run the following month in an event-record 31:41 minutes finish time.Johannes, Sabrina (31 July 2010). Focus on Athletes – Meselech Melkamu. IAAF. Retrieved 29 November 2010.

She repeated her cross country bronze medal in 2007, helping the Ethiopian women win the team gold again. She also won a silver medal on the track at the All-Africa Games, finishing as runner-up behind Meseret Defar in the 5000 metres. She was sixth over that distance at the World Championships later that year.

Melkamu won her first indoor medal over 3000 metres in March 2008, again taking the second spot behind Defar at the World Indoor Championships. She did not win a medal at the World Cross Country Championships (finishing in ninth place), but she defeated Defar to win the 5000 metres at the African Championships. She was selected to represent Ethiopia at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, finishing seventh in the 5000 metres final in a time of 15:49.03. (She finished the race in eight place but rose to seventh after Elvan Abeylegesse's runner-up finish was expunged years later because of doping.)

She returned to the podium at the 2009 World Cross Country Championships, taking another bronze medal. On 14 June, she broke the African record in the 10,000 metres with a time of 29:53.80 at a race in Utrecht, Netherlands, bettering Tirunesh Dibaba's time of 29:54.66. She won her first world track medal later that season, finishing as runner-up to Linet Masai in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships.

She continued her bronze medal streak at the 2010 World Cross Country Championships. On 31 July, she won a silver medal at the African Championships in Nairobi, finishing second to Dibaba in the 10,000 metres. To finish the year, she won the Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race in the Obudu local government area of Nigeria, which doubled as the African Mountain Running Championships.

In February 2011, she won her fourth career title at the Jan Meda International Cross Country in Addis Ababa. At the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon, her first marathon, she stayed in the lead group until the 37 kilometre mark, after which she pulled away to victory in a new course record of 2:21:01 hours. In February 2013, she ran a half marathon personal best of 1:08:05 hours while finishing in seventh place at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates.

Personal bests 1500 metres – 4:07.52 (2007) Mile run – 4:33.94 (2003) 2000 metres (indoor) - 5:39.2 (2007) (intermediate time in a longer race) (12th fastest ever as of 2 April 2017) 3000 metres (outdoor) - 8:34.73 (2005) 3000 metres (indoor) - 8:23.74 (2007) (4th fastest ever as of 17 June 2017) 5000 metres (outdoor) – 14:31.91 (2010) 10,000 metres (track) – 29:53.80 (2009) (6th fastest ever as of 5 July 2017) 10 kilometres (road) – 31:17 (2013) (intermediate time in a longer race), 31:41 (2006) 15 kilometres (road) - 47:54 (2013) (intermediate time in a longer race) 20 kilometres (road) - 1:04:32 (2013) (intermediate time in a longer race) Half marathon - 1:08:05 (2013) 30 kilometres (road) - 1:39.21 (2014) (intermediate time in a longer race) Marathon – 2:21:01 (2012)

International competitions Representing 2004World Junior Championships Grosseto, Italy 1st5000 m15:21.522005World Cross Country Championships Saint-Étienne/Saint-Galmier, France 6thShort race (4.196 km)13:28 1stTeam18 pts 4thLong race (8.108 km)26:39 1stTeam16 ptsWorld Championships Helsinki, Finland 4th5000 m14:43.47World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 5th3000 m8:50.422006World Cross Country Championships Fukuoka, Japan 3rdShort race (4 km)12:54 1stTeam25 pts 3rdLong race (8 km)25:38 1stTeam16 ptsAfrican Championships Bambous, Mauritius 6th5000 m16:01.09World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 6th5000 m16:08.032007World Cross Country Championships Mombasa, Kenya 3rdSenior race (8 km)26:48 1stTeam19 ptsAll-Africa Games Algiers, Algeria 2nd5000 m15:03.86World Championships Osaka, Japan6th5000 m15:01.42World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 5th5000 m15:06.202008World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 2nd3000 m8:41.50World Cross Country Championships Edinburgh, United Kingdom 9thSenior race (7.905 km) 25:51 1stTeam18 ptsAfrican Championships Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1st5000 m15:49.81Olympic Games Beijing, China 8th5000 m15:49.03World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 3rd5000 m14:58.762009World Cross Country ChampionshipsAmman, Jordan3rdSenior race (8 km)26:192ndSenior team28 ptsWorld ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany 2nd10,000 m30:51.342010World Cross Country ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland3rdSenior race (7.759 km)24:262ndSenior team22 ptsAfrican ChampionshipsNairobi, Kenya2nd10,000 m31:55.502011World Cross Country ChampionshipsPunta Umbria, Spain4thSenior race (8 km)25:182ndSenior team29 ptsAll-Africa GamesMaputo, MozambiqueNone10,000 mDid not finishWorld ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea5th10,000 m30:56.552013World Championships Moscow, RussiaNoneMarathonDid not finish

References

External links

Focus on athletes – In-depth article