Ayele Abshero is an Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

n long-distance runner who mainly competes in cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

 and road races

Road running

Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...

.

He came to prominence with a junior silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Holyrood Park at Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 March 2008. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...

 before taking the junior title in 2009. He won the 2008 Zevenheuvelenloop

Zevenheuvelenloop

Zevenheuvelenloop is an annual 15 kilometres road running race held in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands; it attracted over 30,000 runners in 2008...

 and 2011 Egmond Half Marathon

Egmond Half Marathon

The Egmond Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres that has been staged in Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands since 1973. The competition normally takes place in early January. Sections of the road race cross along the beach and sand dunes of the village, situated on the...

 races.

Career

He began to take running seriously in order to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Tessema Abshero, who is an accomplished marathon runner. He also was inspired by the longevity and success of fellow Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie

Haile Gebrselassie

Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon...

. Abshero ran at the 2007 Great Ethiopian Run

Great Ethiopian Run

The Great Ethiopian Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.The competition was first envisioned by neighbors Ethiopian runner Haile Gebrselassie, Peter Middlebrook and Abi Masefield in late October 2000, following Haile's return...

, and just missed the podium with a fourth place finish behind Feyisa Lilesa

Feyisa Lilesa

Feyisa Lilesa is a male long-distance runner from Ethiopia. He became the youngest man to run under 2:06 when he set his personal best in the men's marathon at the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon. This makes him the third fastest Ethiopian runner ever over the distance, behind Haile Gebrselassie and...

. His first opportunity to represent Ethiopia at a major competition came at the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Holyrood Park at Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 March 2008. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...

. He competed in the junior men's race and remained near the front in the later stages, eventually taking second place behind teammate Ibrahim Jeilan

Ibrahim Jeilan

Ibrahim Jeilan Gashu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres on the track, as well as cross country running...

. This performance earned him two silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

s, individually and with the Ethiopian team. Later that year he took part in the Zevenheuvelenloop

Zevenheuvelenloop

Zevenheuvelenloop is an annual 15 kilometres road running race held in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands; it attracted over 30,000 runners in 2008...

 road race in Nijmegen. He won the race in a personal best time of 45:15 minutes, defeating Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele

Kenenisa Bekele

Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...

 and his brother Tariku Bekele

Tariku Bekele

Tariku Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres. He is the younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele. He is the fourth fastest Ethiopian ever over 5000 m and 3000 metres...

. This performance ranked him third fastest over the distance that year.

Abshero began the following season with a win at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza

Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza

The Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza, also known as the Elgoibar Cross Country, is an annual cross country running competition which takes place each January in Elgoibar, the Basque Country, Spain...

 race and won by a margin of thirteen seconds, finishing far ahead of senior cross country medallists Moses Mosop

Moses Mosop

Moses Cheruiyot Mosop is a Kenyan middle and long distance athlete. He competed for Kenya at the 2004 Olympic Games and went on to take 10,000 metres bronze at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics...

 and Leonard Komon

Leonard Komon

Leonard Patrick Komon is a Kenyan long-distance runner and the current world record holder in the 10 kilometres and 15 km road races....

. After a top five finish at the Cross Internacional de Itálica

Cross Internacional de Itálica

The Cross Internacional de Itálica is an annual cross country running competition that is held every January in Santiponce, near Seville, Spain. Inaugurated in 1982, the race course is set in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Itálica...

, he returned to lead the Ethiopian junior team at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Al Bisharat Golf Course at Amman, Jordan on 28 March 2009. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...

. He was the favourite to win the race and fulfilled the predictions, taking the junior gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 ahead of the persevering Kenyan Titus Mbishei

Titus Mbishei

Titus Kipjumba Mbishei is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in track, cross country and road running...

 who had pushed the race tempo throughout. He ran on the track

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 in Europe that summer and set a 5000 metres

5000 metres

The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...

 best of 13:11.38 minutes and 27:54.29 for the 10,000 metres in July. The following month, he ran for Ethiopia at the 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships

2009 African Junior Athletics Championships

The 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships were held in Bambous, Mauritius from 30 July to 2 August. There were 41 events in total, of which 21 were contested by male athletes and 20 by female athletes. Multiple gold medallists Caster Semenya and Amaka Ogoegbunam broke championships records,...

 and came fourth in the 5000 m. At the end of the year he again entered a Dutch 15K race, this time the Montferland Run

Montferland Run

Montferland Run is a 15-kilometres road running competition held every December in 's-Heerenberg, Montferland municipality, the Netherlands.-Winners:Key:- External links :**...

, where he finished third some distance behind the winner Nicholas Manza Kamakya

Nicholas Manza Kamakya

Nicholas Manza Kamakya is an Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including marathons.He was the 2007 winner of the Boilermaker Road Race 15K. In 2009 he came second at the Prague Half Marathon with a personal best of 1:00:09 hours, won the Göteborgsvarvet, was...

.

With many of Ethiopia's main runners absent, he gained a place on the men's senior team for the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking...

 with a runner-up performance at the Jan Meda Cross Country. He finished the race in 24th position and, as the fifth finisher among the Ethiopians, his score did not count towards the team competition. He took to the European road circuit in August, winning the Omloop race in Hem

Hem (Netherlands)

Hem is a village in the municipality Drechterland, located in the north west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia....

 with a 10K best of 28:11 minutes. In September, he was third at the 10K race held at the Tilburg Ten Miles

Tilburg Ten Miles

Tilburg Ten Miles is an annual road running competition held in Tilburg, The Netherlands since 1988. Despite its name, it is a 10-miles competition only for men, while the women's competition is nowadays held over 10 kilometres. Since 2002 the competition has been held early September, previous...

 and took third again at the Dam tot Damloop

Dam tot Damloop

Dam tot Damloop is an annual road running competition held in the Netherlands. It is a 10-mile race from Amsterdam to Zaandam. The event was first held in 1985.-Winners:- External links :**...

. He secured victory at the Egmond Half Marathon

Egmond Half Marathon

The Egmond Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres that has been staged in Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands since 1973. The competition normally takes place in early January. Sections of the road race cross along the beach and sand dunes of the village, situated on the...

 with half a minute to spare at the start of 2011, recording a time of 1:02:23 for his debut over the distance. He improved upon this soon after at the City-Pier-City Loop

City-Pier-City Loop

The CPC Loop Den Haag is an annual half marathon competition held in the Hague, Netherlands, every mid-March....

, where he recorded 59:42 minutes for fourth in a tightly contested race.

Competition record

2008	World Cross Country Championships 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Holyrood Park at Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 March 2008. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...	Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... , Scotland	2nd	Junior race	(Team silver)
2009	World Cross Country Championships 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Al Bisharat Golf Course at Amman, Jordan on 28 March 2009. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...	Amman Amman Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost... , Jordan	1st	Junior race	(Team silver)
	African Junior Championships 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships The 2009 African Junior Athletics Championships were held in Bambous, Mauritius from 30 July to 2 August. There were 41 events in total, of which 21 were contested by male athletes and 20 by female athletes. Multiple gold medallists Caster Semenya and Amaka Ogoegbunam broke championships records,...	Bambous, Mauritius	4th	5000 m
2010	World Cross Country Championships 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking...	Bydgoszcz, Poland	24th	Senior race