Getnet Wale Bayabl (born 16 July 2000) is an Ethiopian runner specialising in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ...

. He finished fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as well as at the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

. Wale won the silver medal at the

2019 African Games The 12th African Games was held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This was the first time that the African Games were hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union in January 2017. Bidding process The 12th ...

and a bronze at the

2018 African Championships in Athletics The 21st African Championships in Athletics was held in Asaba, Nigeria from 1 to 5 August 2018 at the Stephen Keshi Stadium. It was the second time that Nigeria hosted this competition. 800 athletes from 52 African countries participated. Medal su ...

. He earned bronze medals at the 2016 and 2018 World Under-20 Championships. In 2019, he became the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

3000 m steeplechase champion. Wale is the current Ethiopian record holder in the indoor

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 3000m shoul ...

Early life

Getnet Wale was born one of eight children in Sekele, Ethiopia. He ran 4 km to and from school. After winning provincial titles at the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') 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 Athle ...

and

aged 13 steeplechase coach Teshome Kebede was interested in him and invited Wale to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, ...

.Landells, Steve. World Athletics, 16 June 2020
Wale ready to make more steeplechase history for Ethiopia
Accessed 1 July 2021.

Early running career

Wale's first international competition came at the 2016 IAAF World Under-20 Championships in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

, Poland. Despite falling twice at the water jump he earned the bronze medal in the

3000 m steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the h ...

by placing third in 8:22.83. In 2017, Wale competed at the

2017 World Championships in Athletics Seventeen or 17 may refer to: * 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanes ...

making the final and placing ninth in 8:25.28. The next year, he competed at the

2018 IAAF World U20 Championships The 2018 World U20 Championships in Athletics, also known as the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 1999) which was held at Tampere Stadiu ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...

, Finland, where he took bronze in 8:26.16. In 2019, Wale contested nine 3000 m steeplechase races including

wins in Rabat and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. At the 2019 World Championships in Athletics, he placed fourth in the 3000 m steeplechase event in a personal best time of 8:05.21. In 2020, Wale only raced one steeplechase after an indoor track season. He competed at the

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...

finishing 10th in 8:35.85.

Possible transition to 5000m

On 16 January 2021, Wale placed second at the Olympic candidate trial competition in

. On 9 February, he ran a 7:24.98 in the

Liévin Liévin (; pcd, Lévin; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The inhabitants are called ''Liévinois''. Overview The town of Liévin is an old mining area of Pas-de-Calais. Near Lens, this town is of modest size bu ...

, France, which was the second fastest all-time indoor time for the event, behind

Daniel Komen Daniel Kipngetich Komen (born 17 May 1976) Komen is rumoured to be three years older than officially recognised. is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, Komen's most notable achievemen ...

's 7:24.90 from 1998. On 11 April, he won the Ethiopian Championships over 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 ...

. On 19 May, Wale won the 3000 m steeplechase at the 60th Ostrava Golden Spike in 8:09.47. At the Ethiopian Trials on 8 June in

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. Pop ...

, Netherlands, he won the 5000 m with a time of 12:53.28. Wale was named for the Ethiopian Olympic Team in the 5000 m for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he was eliminated in the heats.

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

champion 3000 m steeplechase: Diamond blue

:: 3000 metres steeplechase wins, other events specified in parenthesis :*

: Rabat Meeting ( ), Brussels Memorial Van Damme

National championships

Ethiopian Athletics Championships The Ethiopian Athletics Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Ethiopia. The competition was first held in 1971.

: 2018, 2019 **

: 2021

Personal bests

:* 1500 metres indoor – 3:35.54 ( Val-de-Reuil 2021) *

2000 metres The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a track running event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles. The global governing body World Ath ...

– 4:58.26 (

2020) ** 3000 metres indoor – 7:24.98 (

2021) *

– 12:53.28 (

2021) *

– 8:05.21 (

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...

2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wale, Getnet 2000 births Living people Ethiopian male steeplechase runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia Diamond League winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games African Games competitors for Ethiopia Ethiopian Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games silver medalists for Ethiopia Olympic athletes of Ethiopia 21st-century Ethiopian people