Alemu Bekele Gebre (born 23 March 1990) is an Ethiopian professional

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 competes internationally for

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. He specialises in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

and

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 ...

. He transferred to Bahrain as a junior (under-19) athlete and won the 5000m bronze medal 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- ...

. He took 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 3000 m sho ...

bronze at the

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

before raising to the top of the region by winning the 10,000m title and 5000m silver at the

2013 Asian Athletics Championships The 2013 Asian Athletics Championships were the 20th edition of the biennial athletics (sport), athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune, India between 3–7 July. Ar ...

. He also races in cross country competitions: he was the 2012 Asian champion, 2013 World Military champion, and is a three-time participant of 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 ...

Career

Early life

Alemu Bekele Gebre was born and raised in Lemu, a small rural farming community near Bekoji in Ethiopia's

Arsi Zone Arsi () is a Zones of Ethiopia, zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo people, Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by Ea ...

. He grew up in a family of nine children and spent his early years assisting his parents with their

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

crops. He moved to stay with his grandparents when he started school but he became distracted from his studies as his interest in

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move quickly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is in contrast to walkin ...

grew. His father urged him to focus on his schoolwork and Alemu did so, going on to high school in Bekoji in 2005. The coach at the school, Sentayehu Eshetu, had taught world champions

Kenenisa Bekele Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha (; ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian Long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was the world record holder in both the 5000 metres, 5,000-metre and 10000 metres, 10,000-metre from 2004 until 2020. He won the go ...

and

Tirunesh Dibaba Tirunesh Dibaba (, Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኒ; born 1 October 1985) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner athlete who competes in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold meda ...

previously and Alemu again threw himself into running practice. His father refused to support him further and forced him to leave the family home.Elshadai Negash (20 March 2009)
Focus on Athletes – Alemu Bekele
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-07-13. Alemu lived on the streets for a period but continued to run in local races. A good performance at a youth trial race in 2007 earned him a training place with the Ethiopian Athletics Federation and the prestigious Muger Cement athletics club took him in. He earned a stipend of 200 Ethiopian Birr to continue training, but wished to compete abroad and earn more from his running. Aware of the path of previous Ethiopian athletes, he contacted the Bahrain Athletics Association and asked if he could

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

to run for the oil-rich Middle East country. The Bahraini authorities agreed and in his first competition for them, the 2009

Asian Cross Country Championships The Asian Cross Country Championships is a biennial regional cross country running competition for athletes from Asia. It is organised by the Asian Athletics Association and was first held in 1991 in Fukuoka, Japan. The competition has been held ...

he won the junior section. At the World half marathon championships in Denmark, Alemu complete the half marathon in 1:01:46.

Running for Bahrain

At the

2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 28, 2009. The races were held at the Al Bisharat Golf Course in Amman, Jordan. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races ...

he placed 26th in the junior race. Later that year he went on to place third in the

at the

Arab Athletics Championships The Arab Athletics Championships () is an event organized by the Arab Athletics Federation. 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 scheduli ...

, sixth at the

2009 Asian Athletics Championships The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, China in 2009. Results Men Track Field Women Track Field Medal table Participating nations * (12) * (1) * (1) * (77) * (22) * ...

, and won silver medals in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

and 5000m at the

Asian Indoor Games The Asian Indoor Games were a multi-sport event that was contested every two years among athletes representing countries from Asia. The games were regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia. The first games were held in 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand. ...

. In his first senior year he was much improved. After 31st place 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 ...

he ran personal bests of 7:54.47 minutes for the

and 13:38.10 minutes for the 5000m. The 2011 season was mixed: he managed only 68th at the

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 was seventh in the 1500m at the

Military World Games The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A ...

, but he won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

before setting a 1500m best of 3:40.83 minutes for sixth at the

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games (), also known as the Pan-Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Games took place in 1953 in Alexandr ...

.Alemu Bekele
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 13 July 2013. Alemu broke new ground in 2012. He started with a 3000m best of 7:48.04 minutes for a bronze medal at the

. He failed to make it out of the heats of the event at the

2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of fo ...

but won the men's title at the Asian Cross Country Championships a few weeks later. In May he set two new bests: 69:31 minutes for the

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 ...

and 27:56.20 minutes for the

at the

FBK Games The Fanny Blankers-Koen Games, abbreviated as FBK Games, is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands. It is named after Fanny Blankers-Koen in 1981, but was named Adriaan Paulen Memorial after A ...

. He ended the track season with a personal best of 13:21.54 minutes for the 5000m. He began 2013 with a win at the

World Military Cross Country Championships The World Military Cross Country Championships is an international biennial cross country running competition organised by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). The competition is typically held in late February or early March. First he ...

, but failed to finish at the

2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2013. The races were held at the Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Kenya topped the medal standings in the competition with 5 gold, and Ethiopia had the most overall ...

Asian title

He won the 10,000 m title at the 2013 Arab Championships and repeated that finish at the

, where he was also the 5000m runner-up behind fellow Bahraini-Ethiopian transferee Dejenee Regassa.Chinese sprinters take away 100m titles at Asian Championships
IAAF (4 July 2013). Retrieved on 2013-07-07.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bekele, Alemu Living people 1990 births Athletes from Oromia Addis Ababa University alumni Bahraini male long-distance runners Ethiopian male long-distance runners Bahraini male marathon runners Ethiopian male marathon runners Olympic male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Asian Games silver medalists for Bahrain Asian Games athletes for Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Bahrain Asian Athletics Championships winners Asian Athletics Championships medalists Asian Cross Country Championships winners Ethiopian emigrants to Bahrain Arab Athletics Championships winners Asian Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field)

Career

Early life

Running for Bahrain

Asian title

See also

References

External links