Abebech Afework Bekele (born 11 December 1990) is an Ethiopian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who specialises

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

races. She has represented Ethiopia at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

and the

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Road Running Championships is a biennial international road running competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It wa ...

. She was the 2011 winner of the Egmond Half Marathon. Her personal best for the distance is 1:10:30 hours. She first began competing abroad in 2009, taking third at the Udine Half Marathon in a time of 1:11:15 hours and running a

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 ...

best of 32:52.67 minutes in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. She also won the smaller Arezzo Half Marathon race that year. She had her first international call-ups the following year, coming 18th in the senior 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 14th at the

2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake. The Kenyan at ...

Nanning Nanning; is the capital of the Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South China, southern China. It is known as the "Green City (绿城) " because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of Guangxi, Nanning ...

. At the

Zwolle Half Marathon Zwolle Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running event held in Zwolle, Netherlands, in June. The race was first held in 2001 and attracts both amateur and professional runners. Over 3000 people took part in the 2008 edition of the race. ...

she ran a personal best of 1:10:49 hours for the distance, coming in as runner-up behind

Caroline Kilel Caroline Cheptanui Kilel (born 21 March 1981) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in road running competitions. She was the winner at the 2011 Boston Marathon and the Frankfurt Marathon in 2010 and 2013. Kilel took the silver medal ...

. She was also runner-up at the

Great Ethiopian Run The Great Ethiopian Run () is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. With 45,000 participants, the race has become the biggest road race in Africa. Overview The competition was first ...

at the end of the year, behind

Sule Utura Gedo Sule Utura (born 8 February 1990 in Bore, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian middle distance and long distance runner. She won the 5000 metres at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics and was third place in the 3000 metres at the ...

. In January 2011, she won the Egmond Half Marathon Running for the Ethiopian Defence running club, she came fourth in the 10,000 m at the national championships then ran a personal best of 32:05.06 minutes at the

Golden Spike Ostrava Golden Spike () is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interrupted in 1999, whe ...

later that month. In September she turned back to the roads and came third at the

Dam tot Damloop Dam tot Damloop (; ) is an annual road running competition held in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. The main event is a 10-mile race from Amsterdam to Zaandam. The race was an IAAF Road Race Silver Label Event from 2013 until ...

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan ...

then won the Route du Vin Half Marathon in a personal best of 1:10:30 hours. She returned to the Great Ethiopian 10K in November and improved one place to take the title, beating established marathon runners in

Tiki Gelana Erba Tiki Gelana (; born 22 October 1987) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. Her personal best of 2:18:58 remained the Ethiopian national record for the event from 2012 to 2017. She won the 2011 Amsterdam Maratho ...

and

Atsede Habtamu Atsede Habtamu Besuye (born 26 October 1987) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in road running and the marathon distance. She came to prominence at the IAAF World Road Running Championships in 2007 where, at the age of nineteen ...

. She then defeated the reigning world marathon champion

Edna Kiplagat Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat (born 15 November 1979) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and Ne ...

to win at the

Montferland Run Pfixx Solar Montferland Run is an annual 15-kilometres road running competition held in 's-Heerenberg, Montferland, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1996 and typically takes place on the first Sunday in December. Unlike many elite level road ...

15K. She placed sixth at the

2012 African Cross Country Championships The 2nd African Cross Country Championships was an international cross country running competition for African athletes which was held on 18 March 2012 in Cape Town's Keurboom Park in South Africa. Organised by the Confederation of African Athle ...

and set a

best of 31:48.53 minutes at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic is a track and field meet held at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Organized by the Oregon Track Club, it was previously one of the IAAF Grand Prix events, and ...

. In July, she placed third at the

Bogotá Half Marathon The Bogotá International Half Marathon (), or mmB as it is traditionally known, is an annual road running competition over a half marathon distance () taking place in Bogotá, Colombia in late July or early August, first held in 2000. The comp ...

. She failed to make it into the top five at either the

Lille Half Marathon The Lille Métropole Half Marathon ( French: ''Semi-Marathon de Lille Métropole'') is an annual half marathon foot race which takes place in Lille, France, in early September. First organised by the Association de Promotion des Événements Lil ...

Delhi Half Marathon Delhi Half Marathon, currently branded as the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is ...

. She opened 2013 with a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

debut and managed eighth place at the fast

Dubai Marathon The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by the emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. History Initial era The inaugural Dubai Marat ...

, recording a time of 2:27:08 hours. She gave a better performance at the 2013

Rotterdam Marathon The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes. ...

, placing second behind

Jemima Sumgong Jemima Jelagat Sumgong (born 21 December 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner specialising in marathon races. She has won the London, Rotterdam and Las Vegas Marathons, and has finished runner-up at the Boston, Chicago and New York City Mar ...

with a time of 2:23:59 hours.van Hemert, Wim (2013-04-14)
Regassa and Jelagat triumph in Rotterdam
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-04-18.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Afework, Abebech Living people 1990 births Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners