Bezunesh Bekele Sertsu (born 29 January 1983) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Bezunesh Bekele Sertsu was born on January 29, 1983, in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. In her early career, she achieved notable success in road races, securing back-to-back victories 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 ...

in 2004 and 2005, as well as winning the

Rotterdam Half Marathon The Rotterdam Half Marathon was an annual half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres, that was staged in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on the second Sunday in September. The event was contested from 2004 to 2009. It was discontinued in 2010 due to lacking ...

. Her triumph at the

Cross Internacional de Itálica The Cross Internacional de Itálica is an annual cross country running competition that is held every January in Santiponce, near Seville, Spain. Inaugurated on December 19, 1982, the race course is set in the ruins of the ancient Roman Empire, Rom ...

in 2006 highlighted her talent, and she later placed sixth in the short race at the

2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on April 1/2, 2006. The races were held at the Umi-no-nakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka, Japan, Japan's National Cross Country Course which is the permanent residence of the annual Fuku ...

. In 2007, she added significant circuit victories, including wins at the

Zevenheuvelenloop The Zevenheuvelenloop (; English: Seven Hills Run) is an annual Road running, road race of 15K_run, 15 kilometres held in and around Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in th ...

and the

Portugal Half Marathon Luso Portugal Half Marathon or Hyundai Meia Maratona de Portugal is an annual half marathon contested every October in Lisbon, Portugal. A new, faster course was established for the race in 2010 and 25 km record holder Mary Keitany duly resp ...

. At the

2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given both for the men's race and for the women's race. Medallists Race result ...

, Bezunesh finished fourth, setting a national half marathon record of 1:08:07. However, this record was later surpassed by

Dire Tune Dire Tune Arissi ( ; born 19 June 1985) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. Tune competed in the marathon at the 2005 World Championships. At the 2006 World Road Running Championships she finished fourth in the individual comp ...

, who clocked 1:07:18 at the 2009 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon. Bezunesh narrowly missed being selected for the 2008 Ethiopian Olympic team, despite having faster times than Tune, which caused tension between the two runners. In 2008, she placed third at the

Great Manchester Run The Great Manchester Run is an annual run through Greater Manchester (namely Manchester, Trafford and Salford). It has consisted of a 10k run since it was established in 2003, and a half marathon since 2017. The 10k race is the largest of its t ...

, finishing behind

Jo Pavey Joanne Marie Pavey MBE (née Davis, born 20 September 1973) is a British retired long-distance runner. A World, European and Commonwealth medallist, Pavey won the 10,000 m gold medal at the 2014 European Championships as the oldest fema ...

and

Rose Cheruiyot Rose Jelagat Cheruiyot (born 21 July 1976) is a runner from Kenya. She competed in the 5000 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics. She is married to Ismael Kirui. The couple completed an unusual double, when they both wo ...

. Bezunesh debuted in the marathon with a time of 2:23:09 at the 2008 Dubai Marathon, securing second place behind Birhane Adere. Her time ranked among the fastest ever for a debut marathon. She returned to Dubai in 2009 and won the marathon, beating

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 ...

by over a minute. That year, she represented Ethiopia in the marathon 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 ...

, finishing in 16th place. In 2010, she came fourth at the

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 ...

with a time of 2:23:17, and later secured second place at the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , including elite level road r ...

with a time of 2:24:58. In the

2011 London Marathon The 2011 London Marathon was the 31st running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 17 April. The elite men's race was won by Kenya's Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai in a course record time of 2:04:40 hours and ...

, Bezunesh achieved the best result by an Ethiopian runner, finishing fourth in 2:23:42. She again finished fourth at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

, narrowly missing a medal. In 2012, Bezunesh improved her personal best with a time of 2:20:30 at the

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 ...

, ranking as the third fastest Ethiopian woman and one of the top twenty fastest women for the event. Later in 2012, she placed fourth at the Yangzhou Half Marathon but improved during the year, winning the Great Scottish Run and setting a personal best of 51:45 in the 10-mile race 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 ...

, where she finished second. She capped off the year with a fourth-place finish at the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

. Bezunesh is married to fellow Ethiopian marathon runner Tessema Abshiro, who is also a member of the Ethiopian national team.

Achievements

Personal bests

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bezunesh Bekele 1983 births Living people Ethiopian female marathon runners Ethiopian female long-distance runners Athletes from Addis Ababa