Belaynesh Oljira 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 competes mainly in 10K and half marathon

Half marathon

A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...

 races. She represented her country at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships

IAAF World Cross Country Championships

IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...

 in 2011.

Born in Welega in Ethiopia, she demonstrated her potential as an endurance runner with a third place finish at the 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...

. She began competing on the European circuit the following year and won the Le Mans Cross Country race before placing second at the European Clubs Cross Country Cup. She ran at IAAF Diamond League

IAAF Diamond League

The Samsung Diamond League is an annual series of track and field meetings held from 2010 onwards, beginning with the 2010 IAAF Diamond League...

 meetings that summer and set a 3000 metres

3000 metres

The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...

 track best of 8:40.73 minutes at the Herculis

Herculis

The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League.-World records:...

 meet and a personal best time of 14:58.16 minutes for the 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...

 at the Meeting Areva. Belaynesh found success on the roads that year, having runner-up finishes at the 10 km du Conseil Général and Marseille-Cassis Classic, a third place in the Zhuhai Half Marathon, and a win at the Nice Half Marathon (where she set a best of 1:10:22 hours). She ended the year with a third place at the Sao Silvestre de Luanda in Angola.

Representing Ethiopia's Commercial Bank team, she came third at the Jan Meda Cross Country in February 2011 and earned herself a spot for the Ethiopian world team. At the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships

The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in Punta Umbría, Spain on 20 March 2011.-Preparation:The United States had expressed an interest in hosting the competition, but Punta Umbria was chosen as the host at the IAAF Council Meeting in November 2009...

, she came tenth in the women's senior race and took a share in the team 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....

 alongside Meselech Melkamu

Meselech Melkamu

Meselech Melkamu is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and cross-country events...

, Wude Ayalew and Genzebe Dibaba

Genzebe Dibaba

Genzebe Dibaba is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She is the sister of World Champion Tirunesh Dibaba and Olympic silver medallist Ejegayehu Dibaba, and the cousin of former Olympic champion Derartu Tulu....

. Turning to the track, she won the 10,000 metres title at the Ethiopian Athletics Championships. She then set a personal best of 31:17.80 minutes for that event at the Golden Spike Ostrava

Golden Spike Ostrava

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.-History:...

 meet and placed third at the World 10K Bangalore

World 10K Bangalore

The World 10K Bangalore is an annual 10 kilometres road running competition which takes place in Bangalore, India. The competition was first held in 2008 and usually takes place in late May...

 behind Dire Tune

Dire Tune

Dire Tune is an Ethiopian long-distance runner.Tune competed in the marathon at the 2005 World Championships. At the 2006 World Road Running Championships she finished fourth in the individual competition. This was good enough to help Ethiopia win a silver medal in the team competition.On April 21,...

 and Merima Mohammed

Merima Mohammed

Merima Mohammed Hasen is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including the marathon. Her personal best of 2:23:06 hours for the distance makes her the second fastest teenager ever over the 42.195 km distance. She has won marathons in Düsseldorf, Nice and...

. She was selected for the Ethiopian team at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics

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....

, but ultimately did not compete.

In November she was runner-up to Linet Masai

Linet Masai

Linet Chepkwemoi Masai is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events...

 at the Cross de Atapuerca

Cross de Atapuerca

The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cross country season...

 race, then ran a new best of 1:07:27 hours at the Delhi Half Marathon, finishing in fourth place.