Lemlem Hailu (

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: ለምለም ኃይሉ; born 25 May 2001) is an Ethiopian middle- and

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 ...

. She won the gold medal in the

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 ...

at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. Lemlem earned bronze in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run 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 Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

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 ...

. At age 16, she was the 1500 m 2017 World Youth champion to take a bronze in the event at the

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

a year later. She represented Ethiopia in the women's 1500 m at the 2019 World Championships and

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 ...

. Lemlem holds the world junior indoor record in the event.

Career

At age 16, Lemlem Hailu gained first international experience at the 2017 World Youth Championships in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, where she won the

event. A year later, she took gold over the distance at the

African Youth Games The African Youth Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years to complement the current Africa Games. The first games was hosted by Rabat, Morocco. This international sportive event has been created by Lassana Palenfo, c ...

held in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

and went to Argentina for

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, where she earned bronze in a combined 1500m event. In 2019, she captured the bronze medal for the 1500m at the

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

. Lemlem represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, reaching the

semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

. In February 2020, she set a world under-20 record for the indoor 1500 metres with a time of 4:01.79, breaking by 0.02 s previous mark set by her compatriot

Gudaf Tsegay Gudaf Tsegay Desta (Amharic: ጉዳፉ ፀጋይ ደስታ; born 23 January 1997) is an Ethiopian Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner. She is the current women’s world record holder for 5,000 m (1 ...

in 2016. The same month, Lemlem improved her record to 4m 1.57s, which was her fourth personal best achieved within three weeks. In October, she won the 1500m race at the

Kip Keino Classic The Kip Keino Classic is a track and field meeting held at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya and named after Olympian Kipchoge Keino. The inaugural edition took place in 2020 as part of the inaugural World Athletics Continental Tour The W ...

. In 2021, Lemlem secured an overall 3000m World Indoor Tour victory, winning two top-level meets. She won the event at the

Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais The Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais (formerly Meeting Pas de Calais) also called Meeting International de Liévin (''International Meeting of Liévin'') is an annual indoor track and field competition which takes place in February at Arena ...

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 ...

, and the

Copernicus Cup Copernicus Cup is an annual indoor track and field competition which takes place in February at the multi-purpose sports and entertainment Arena Toruń in Toruń, Poland. The meeting is currently an IAAF World Indoor Tour Meeting. In 2019, the co ...

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

. At the delayed

, Lemlem was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500m event. The next year, Lemlem became the 3000m World indoor champion in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

with a season's best of 8:41.82. Elle Purrier St. Pierre won silver in 8:42.04 while Lemlem's compatriot

Ejgayehu Taye Ejgayehu Taye (born 10 February 2000) is an Ethiopian Olympic long-distance runner. She won the bronze medal for the 3000 metres at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. She also held the mixed world record 5 km road race from 2021 to 2024, ...

was third in 8:42.23.

Achievements

International competitions

Circuit wins, and National titles

World Athletics Indoor Tour The World Athletics Indoor Tour, formerly the IAAF World Indoor Tour, is an annual series of indoor track and field meetings, held since 2016. It was designed to create a Diamond League-style circuit for indoor track and field events, to raise th ...

3000 m overall winner:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

(3000 m): Liévin Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, Toruń Copernicus Cup **

(3000 m): Karlsruhe Init Indoor Meeting *

World Athletics Continental Tour The World Athletics Continental Tour is an annual series of independent track and field athletic competitions, recognised by World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF). The Tour forms the second tier of international one-day meetings after the ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

(1500 m): Nairobi Kip Keino Classic *

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.

: 2019, 2021

Personal bests

– 4:00.32 ( Castellón 2022) ** 1500 metres indoor – 4:01.57 (

2020) World U20 record *

– 8:34.03 (

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) ** 3000 metres indoor – 8:29.28 (

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

2021) *

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 ...

– 14:34.54 (

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

2023) ;Road *

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 ...

– 1:08:50 (

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hailu, Lemlem Ethiopian female middle-distance runners 2001 births Living people World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics African Games bronze medalists for Ethiopia African Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 African Youth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games World Youth Championships in Athletics winners Ethiopian Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ethiopia World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists 21st-century Ethiopian sportswomen