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 along with her younger sister, Almensh Belete, who is also a runner. It was in Belgium that she began competing: she ran at the 2007 Memorial van Damme in Brussels and was the 2009 winner of the Eurocross competition.Hendrix, Ivo (2009-02-16). Kiprop and Belete are the Eurocross winners in Diekirch. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. She chose to transfer allegiance to Bahrain in early 2009 and her first outing for her newly adopted country was at the Asian Cross Country Championships, where she took the silver medal behind fellow convert Maryam Yusuf Jamal.Negash, Elshadai (2009-03-02). Jamal and Abdullah cruise to title defence - Asian Cross Country Championships. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. She ran at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March and finished in 28th place. She also qualified for the 1500 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics and reached the semi-finals of the event.Hendrix, Ivo (2010-02-26). Matebo, Belete sisters the favourites in Diekirch Eurocross. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28.Belete Mimi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. At the end of the year she set indoor bests at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games, taking fourth place in the 800 metres and taking the runner-up spot in the 1500 metres behind Liu Qing.Murali, Ram. Krishnan (2009-10-31). Li Ling's vault victory and Huong's 60m triumph highlight opening day of Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28.
She started her 2010 with a defence of her title at the Eurocross before going on to take 16th place at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz. She improved her 3000 metres best with a fourth-place finish in 8:32.18 at the Herculis IAAF Diamond League meeting in July,Herculis 2010 - Women's 3000 m. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. and a month later she ran a personal best of 4:00.25 for the 1500 m, taking second place behind Jamal at the Rieti Meeting.Rieti 2010 - Women's 1500 m. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. She was selected to represent the Asia-Pacific team at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup and came in fourth place in the 1500 m.Mulkeen, Jon (2010-09-05). EVENT Report - Women's 1500 Metres. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-11-28. Belete won two medals at the 2010 Asian Games in November. She made a team effort with Jamal in the 1500 m and ended up with the bronze medal as Truong Thanh Hang edged her near the finish.Jamal captures 1500m title in Guangzhou - Asian Games, Day 3. IAAF (2010-11-24). Retrieved on 2010-11-28. Running in the 5000 m, she managed to fend off an Indian challenge in the form of Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut to secure the gold medal in a personal best of 15:15.59 minutes, completing her first major title win.Bahrain takes two distance running golds - Asian Games, Day 6. IAAF (2010-11-27). Retrieved on 2010-11-28.
On October 12, 2018, she won the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, with a course record time and personal best of 2:22:28.
Competition record 2009Asian Cross Country ChampionshipsManama, Bahrain2ndWomen's raceWorld Cross Country ChampionshipsAmman, Jordan28thWomen's raceWorld ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany24th (sf)1500 m4:13.30Asian ChampionshipsGuangzhou, China6th1500 m4:35.30Asian Indoor GamesHanoi, Vietnam4th800 m2:06.672nd1500 m4:19.792010Continental CupSplit, Croatia4th1500 m4:22.27West Asian ChampionshipsAleppo, Syria3rd800 m2:09.001st1500 m4:21.67Asian GamesGuangzhou, China3rd1500 m4:10.421st5000 m15:15.592011World ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea7th1500 m4:07.602012Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom18th (sf)1500 m4:05.912013Asian ChampionshipsPune, India2nd1500 m4:14.04World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia23rd (sf)1500 m4:14.22Islamic Solidarity GamesPalembang, Indonesia4th1500 m4:21.102014World Indoor ChampionshipsSopot, Poland16th (h)1500 m4:16.02Asian GamesIncheon, South Korea2nd1500 m4:11.032nd5000 m15:00.872015World ChampionshipsBeijing, China11th5000 m15:17.012016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil19th (h)5000 m15:29.72
Other notable races Key:
2018Toronto Waterfront MarathonToronto, Ontario, Canada1stWomen's Marathon2:22:28
References