Telahun Haile Bekele (

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 ...

: ጥላሁን ኃይሌ በቀለ; born 13 May 1999) is an Ethiopian male

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 specialises in 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 ...

. His career has included victories at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, and at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislett ...

. He was fourth in the 5000m at the 2019 World Championships.

Biography

Born to rural farmers in

Gurage Zone Gurage is a zone in the Central Ethiopia Regional State of Ethiopia. The region is home to the Gurage people. Gurage is bordered on the southeast by Hadiya and Yem Zone, on the northwest by Kebena Special Woreda, north and east by the Oromi ...

, Telahun became interested in running after taking part in a high school competition. He joined up with coach Assefa Gadisa in 2015, who guided him to runner-up in the 5000m at the 2017

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.

. This caught the attention of national coach Hussein Shibo, who brought the youngster into a training group alongside professionals Selemon Barega and

Hagos Gebrhiwet Hagos Gebrhiwet Berhe (, born 11 May 1994) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 5,000 m at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal in the 5 km at the 2023 World Road Running Championships. He ...

.Landells, Steve (30 August 2019)
Haile Bekele embarks on journey to live up to his namesakes
IAAF. Retrieved 30 August 2019 Telahun began competing internationally in 2017, taking part in European 10K run road races and placing second at the Giro al Sas and third at the Grand 10 Berlin.Tilahun Haile Bekele
IAAF. Retrieved 30 August 2019. He began 2018 in Europe with third at the Czech Indoor Gala and a runner-up finish at the Cinque Mulini. A 5000m win at the Ethiopian U20 Championships and a personal best of 13:04.63 minutes to win at the Meeting Iberoamericano de Atletismo saw him enter the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships saw him enter the competition as the second fastest runner after training mate Selemon Barega. He was beaten by the heat, however, and finished fifth in the 5000m. Telahun made his

IAAF 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 ...

debut that year, placing seventh at Athletissima. He closed the year with third place at the Great Ethiopian Run. At the start of 2019 he continued to show his strength over distance with second place at the Giro Media Blenio 10K. Turning to the track, he won the Ethiopian national title, was fifth at the

Shanghai Golden Grand Prix The Shanghai Diamond League is an annual athletics event at the Shanghai Stadium in Shanghai, China, as part of the Diamond League. The meeting was founded as the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in 2005. The meet assumed its current name in 2010. Fr ...

, then had his first Diamond League victory by winning the 5000m at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual Track and field, track and field event normally held at the Stadio Olimpico, Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 deat ...

, beating his partner Selemon Barega. He was third at that year's Athletissima and placed fourth at the Diamond League final at the Weltklasse Zürich. At the beginning of 2020, Telahun ran two indoor races over 3000m, including a race in Liévin, where he set a new personal best of 7:38.85. In the Summer, injury ruled Telahun out of any competitions. In 2021, he began his season at the Ethiopian Olympic Trials over 5000m. He did not finish the race, and therefore could not qualify. Two days later, on June 10, Telahun ran the Golden Gala, finishing in 13:18.29 for tenth place. He later finished seventh in the 3000m at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in July. In March 2022, after an eight-month break from competition, Telahun returned to win the 5 km de Lille in 13:10. This time placed him 9th in the All-time lists over the distance. In April, he came 2nd in the 5000m at the

. In June, he came sixth at the Golden Gala in 12:57.18 - his fastest 5000m since June 2019. A week later, Telahun won the 5000m at the

in Oslo, ahead of compatriots Samuel Tefera and Getnet Wale. However, at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, five days later, he was only seventh in his heat, missing out on the final by one place. Telahun finished his track season by coming fourth at the 5000m Diamond League Final, held as part of the Weltklasse Zürich. In December, he won the Corrida de Houilles in 27:29.

Statistics

Circuit performances

International competitions

Circuit wins

;5000 m *

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 ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

National titles

**5000 m: 2019 *Ethiopian U20 Championships **5000 m: 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Telahun Haile Bekele 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region Ethiopian male long-distance runners Diamond League winners 21st-century Ethiopian sportsmen