Koren Jelela, also known as ''Koren Jelila Yal'', (born 18 January 1987 in

Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...

) 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 ...

Career

At the 2007 World Cross Country Championships she finished nineteenth in the senior race. With four Ethiopian runners ahead of her she missed out for a place on the victorious Ethiopian team. The same thing happened in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, when Jelela finished fourteenth individually. She was less successful at the 2009 edition, as she finished in 30th place. She chose to move away from

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 soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

and switch her focus to the

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

. On her debut over the

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 ...

distance at the Venice Marathon in 2009, she finished as the runner-up with a time of 2:28:41 hours, second to veteran Kenyan athlete Anne Kosgei. That November she entered the Great Ethiopian Run held in

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 ...

and won the 10 km race with a course record time of 33:03 minutes. She competed at the RAK Half Marathon the following February and made the top ten with a run of 1:10:52. She was announced as one of the elite foreign competitors for the 2010 Boston Marathon in April, but she failed to match her Venice performance and finished in twelfth place some five minutes off her personal best pace. She made an appearance over 10 km at the World 10K Bangalore the following month and took fourth position. In her second full distance race of the year, she came fourth at the

Toronto Waterfront Marathon The Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a road-running race held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, every year in the second or third Sunday of October. Aside from the actual marathon, the race also includes a half-marathon. The Toronto Waterfront Marathon ...

with a best run of 2:24:33. She closed her year in Nigeria with a fifth-place finish at the African Mountain Running Championships hosted by the Obudo Ranch Race that November. She opened 2011 at the Mumbai Marathon and she won in course record time. Her mark of 2:26:56 was also the fastest marathon ever run by a woman in India. In April she took on 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 ...

and placed top-three behind Kenyans Priscah Jeptoo and Agnes Kiprop. She returned to India for the World 10K Bangalore and finished just outside the top three behind Belaynesh Oljira in an Ethiopian sweep of the top four. She was a back-up runner for the Ethiopian team 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 ...

, but ultimately did not compete. In October she won the

ahead of her compatriot Mare Dibaba – Koren reached the halfway mark in a quick time of 1:08:38 hours, but slowed in the second half to finish the race in a personal best time of 2:22:43 hours. The next year, her best run came at the 2012 London Marathon, although her time of 2:28:05 was only enough for twelfth. She was one second slower at the

Istanbul Marathon The Istanbul Marathon (, also known as Türkiye İş Bankası Istanbul Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an international athletics event hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, in November, first held in 1979. It is the only marathon in the world who ...

, but the race was more tactical and she came out on top to win the race.Kurdyumova, Yelena & Porada, Sergey (2012-11-12)
Chebogut and Jelela win in Istanbul
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-02-11.

Personal bests

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 3000 m sho ...

- 9:12.26 min (2007) *

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 ...

- 15:51.81 min (2007) *10 km (road) - 31:55 min (2010) *

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 ...

- 1:08:38 hrs (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 ...

- 2:22:43 hrs (2011)

References

External links

*
Boston Marathon profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelela, Koren 1987 births Living people Ethiopian female long-distance runners Ethiopian female marathon runners Ethiopian female cross country runners 20th-century Ethiopian women 21st-century Ethiopian sportswomen