Aselefech Mergia Medessa ( Oromo: ''Asallafach Margaa Mardaasaa'';

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: አሰለፈች መርጊያ; born 23 January 1985) 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 competes in the marathon. She was a

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 ...

list in the event at the

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

. She is a two-time winner of the Dubai Marathon and has finished in the top three at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

s. She was retrospectively confirmed as the winner of the 2010 London Marathon after the top two were disqualified. Her personal best of 2:19:31 hours is a former Ethiopian record for the distance and places her within the top ten of all-time.

Career

She began taking part in professional road races in 2006, starting with a seventh-place finish at the Delhi Half Marathon. She won the Plymouth Half Marathon in 2007, finishing with a time of 1:14:50. She was second in the women's 10K in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, finishing behind Vivian Cheruiyot but setting a personal best of 32:19 for the distance. At the 2008 World Cross Country Championships she finished sixteenth in the senior race. With five Ethiopian runners ahead of her she missed out for a place on the victorious Ethiopian team. That year she won the Delhi Half Marathon with a personal best run of 1:08:17. She closed the year by winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

at the 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She made her

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 in April 2009 at the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon () is an annual marathon (sport), marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the largest running event in France in terms of finishers and is typically among the five largest marathons in the world. The marathon begi ...

, where she ran 2:25:02 for second place. She topped the podium at the World 10K Bangalore the following month, just holding off a charge from Mary Keitany to win the race in 32:08. Mergia won the

in the women's marathon at the

, recording a time of 2:25:32. Aselefech improved her

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 ...

personal best to 1:07:22 at the 2010 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon. Despite the fast time, this was only enough for third place behind Elvan Abeylegesse and Mare Dibaba. More improvements came at the 2010 London Marathon: although initially finishing third with a run of 2:22:38, improving her best by over two and a half minutes, she was subsequently declared the winner after doping convictions nullified results of the first two runners. She returned to defend her Bangalore 10K title in May, but was beaten to the tape by compatriot Wude Ayalew and, finishing two seconds behind her, Mergia had to settle for the runner-up position. She regained her Delhi Half Marathon title in November: learning from the poor pacing which had left her in ninth place the previous year, she stuck to the front and won the race in a sprint finish ahead of Merima Mohammed. She came close to her personal best with a win at the 2011 Dubai Marathon, just missed the course record mark, but gained the US$250,000 first place prize. She was chosen for the Ethiopian marathon team at the 2011 World Championships and was in twelfth at the 40 km point of the race, but dropped out in the final kilometres. In October she ran at the

Great South Run The Great South Run is an annual 10 mile (16.09 km) road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom providing an intermediate distance between the ten kilometre and the half marathon (21.097 km) runs. Launched in 199 ...

and easily saw off a challenge from Doris Changeywo to win the 10-mile race. An attempt to defend her Delhi Half Marathon title ended in a third-place finish, although she improved her best time by a second. In January 2012, Aselefech won the Dubai Marathon for the second time, setting an Ethiopian record of 2:19:31 hours to break the course record and become the seventh fastest woman ever over the distance. In January 2015, Aselefech won the Dubai Marathon for the third time, 2:20:02.

Personal bests

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 ...

- 4:23.39 min (2007) *

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 ...

1:07:21 (2011) *

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 ...

- 2:19:31 (2012)

Competition record

Road race wins

* Delhi Half Marathon: 2008, 2010 * World 10K Bangalore: 2009 *

: 2010 * Dubai Marathon: 2011, 2012, 2015 *

: 2011

References

External links

*
Marathon Info profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mergia, Aselefech 1985 births Living people Ethiopian female marathon runners Ethiopian female long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists London Marathon female winners 21st-century Ethiopian sportswomen