Elana Meyer, OIS, (born 10 October 1966) is a South African

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 won the

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

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in the

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 ...

event. Meyer set the 15 kilometres road running African record of 46:57 minutes in November 1991 in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. The record was equalled by Ethiopia's Mestawet Tufa in 2008. The record was beaten in 2009 by Tirunesh Dibaba, also from Ethiopia, who posted a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

of 46:28 minutes. Meyer also held 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 ...

African record (1:06:44 hours), set in January 1999 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The record was broken by Mary Keitany of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships by running the distance in 1:06:36 hours.IAAF
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(as of 11 October 2009) She was the gold medallist at the 1994 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and set world records in that event in 1991, 1997, 1998, and 1999. She also had several good placings in top level

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 ...

races.

References

External links

Official Elana Meyer website
* * 1966 births Living people People from Hessequa Local Municipality South African female long-distance runners South African female marathon runners Olympic athletes for South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 1994 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Half Marathon Championships winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) White South African people World Athletics Championships athletes for South Africa South African female cross country runners Olympic silver medalists for South Africa Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games silver medalists for South Africa African Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics {{SouthAfrica-athletics-bio-stub