Getnet Wale Bayabl (born 16 July 2000) is an Ethiopian runner specialising in the 3,000 metres steeplechase. He finished fourth at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

as well as at the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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 ...

. Wale won the silver medal at the

2019 African Games The 12th African Games (), also known as Rabat 2019 (), were 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 Janua ...

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 ...

. He earned bronze medals at the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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 fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

3,000 m steeplechase champion. Wale is the current Ethiopian record holder in the indoor 3,000 metres.

Early life

Getnet Wale was born one of eight children in Sekele, Ethiopia. He ran 4 km to and from school. After he won provincial

1,500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in Sport of athletics, athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalen ...

and 3,000 metres titles aged 13, steeplechase coach Teshome Kebede was interested in him and invited Wale to

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

.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 is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

, Poland. Despite falling twice at the water jump he earned the bronze medal in the 3000 m steeplechase by placing third in 8:22.83. In 2017, Wale competed at the

2017 World Championships in Athletics The 2017 IAAF World Championships, the sixteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 4 to 13 August at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom. London was officially awarded the championships on 11 November 2011. Bidding p ...

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 Athletics U20 Championships, 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) ...

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, Finland, where he took bronze in 8:26.16. In 2019, Wale contested nine 3,000 m steeplechase races including

wins in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. At the

2019 World Championships in Athletics The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

, he placed fourth in the 3,000 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, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

finishing 10th in 8:35.85.

Possible transition to 5,000m

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 3,000 metres in

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

, 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, his most notable achievements ...

's 7:24.90 in 1998. On 11 April, he won the Ethiopian Championships over the 5,000 metres. On 19 May, Wale won the 3,000 m steeplechase at the 60th

Ostrava Golden Spike Golden Spike () is an annual athletics event at the Městský Stadion in Ostrava- Vítkovice, Czech Republic as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1961. The history of the meeting was interrupted in 1999, whe ...

in 8:09.47. At the Ethiopian Trials on 8 June in

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the Twente region, in the province of Overijssel. It is part of a larger urban area that also includes Enschede, Borne, Overijssel, Borne, Almelo and Ol ...

, Netherlands, he won the 5,000 m with a time of 12:53.28. Wale was named for the Ethiopian Olympic Team in the 5,000 m for the delayed

, where he was eliminated in the heats.

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

champion 3,000 m steeplechase: Diamond blue

:: 3,000 metres steeplechase wins, other events specified in parentheses :*

: 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.

** 3,000 metres steeplechase: 2018, 2019 ** 5,000 metres: 2021

Personal bests

:* 1,500 metres indoor – 3:35.54 (

Val-de-Reuil Val-de-Reuil () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in north-western France. It is located south of Rouen in a loop of the Seine. Created as the new town of Le Vaudreuil in 1972, its name was changed to Val-de-Reuil in 1984 to avoi ...

2021) * 2,000 metres – 4:58.26 (

2020) ** 3,000 metres indoor – 7:24.98 (

2021) * 5,000 metres – 12:53.28 (

2021) * 3,000 metres steeplechase – 8:05.21 (

Doha Doha ( ) 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 (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

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 Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 African Games African Games silver medalists for Ethiopia African Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games athletes for Ethiopia Ethiopian Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century Ethiopian sportsmen