Elfenesh Alemu 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 specializes in the marathon race. She represented Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004. She also competed in the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics four times consecutively from 1997 to 2003.

Alemu began competing in the event in 1993 and won the African Marathon Championships the following year. She took the bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 two years later at the 1995 All-Africa Games

Athletics at the 1995 All-Africa Games

The sixth All-Africa Games were held in August 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe. As the track is at an altitude of 1473 metres all performances are considered to be set at altitude, this is believed to assist events up to 400 metres and in the long jump and triple jump...

. She became the first Ethiopian woman to win the Amsterdam Marathon

Amsterdam Marathon

The Amsterdam Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands since 1975. It is one of the top ten marathons in the world.-History:...

 in 1997. She also won the Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon

Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon

The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Marathon has races for both elite and amateur runners...

 in 2000. Her personal best time of 2:24:29 was set in 2001 at the London Marathon

London Marathon

The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...

, which earned her fifth place in the rankings.

She came third at the 2002 Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...

 and won the Tokyo International Women's Marathon

Tokyo International Women's Marathon

The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November.It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the International Amateur Athletic Federation...

 in 2003. That year, she married Gezahegne Abera

Gezahegne Abera

Gezahegne Abera is an Ethiopian athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 2000 Summer Olympics....

, the 2000 Olympic marathon champion. Alemu returned to the Boston course in both 2004 and 2005, finishing as the runner-up on each occasion. She set a course record of 1:12:57 in her 2005 victory at the San Blas Half Marathon in Puerto Rico.

She was eleventh at the 2009 Chicago Marathon

Chicago Marathon

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also an IAAF Gold Label race...

 and took a break from competition in the 2010 season. She formed part of an Ethiopian sweep of the 2011 Mumbai Marathon

Mumbai Marathon

The Mumbai Marathon is an annual international road running competition over the marathon distance that is held in Mumbai, India, each January. The course records set in 2011 were also the fastest times ever run for the marathon on Indian soil – 2:09:54 by Girma Assefa and 2:26:56 by the women's...

 with Koren Yal 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...

, placing third in a time of 2:29:04 hours.

Achievements

Representing
1995	All-Africa Games 1995 All-Africa Games The 6th All-Africa Games were played from September 13, 1995 to September 23, 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe. 46 countries participated in eighteen sports....	Harare Harare Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its... , Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...	3rd	Marathon	3:08:43
1997	World Championships 1997 World Championships in Athletics The 6th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece between August 1 and August 10, 1997. In this event participated 1882 athletes from 198 participant nations...	Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....	15th	Marathon	2:41:00
	Amsterdam Marathon Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands since 1975. It is one of the top ten marathons in the world.-History:...	Amsterdam, Netherlands	1st	Marathon	2:37:37
1999	World Championships 1999 World Championships in Athletics The 7th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Estadio Olímpico, Seville, Spain, between the August 20 and August 29....	Seville, Spain	5th	Marathon	2:28:52
2000	Osaka Ladies Marathon	Osaka, Japan	4th	Marathon	2:24:47
	Nagano Marathon Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Marathon has races for both elite and amateur runners...	Nagano, Japan	1st	Marathon	2:24:55
	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, 46 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 22 for women. There were a total number of 2134 participating athletes from 193 countries.-Men's events:...	Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... , Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	6th	Marathon	2:26:54 Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Women's marathon The Women's Marathon event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on September 24, 2000 in the streets of Sydney, Australia.-Medalists:-Abbreviations:*All times shown are in hours:minutes:seconds-Records:-Startlist:-Intermediates:...
2001	London Marathon London Marathon The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...	London, United Kingdom	5th	Marathon	2:24:29
	World Championships 2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America...	Edmonton, Canada	—	Marathon	DNF
2003	World Championships 2003 World Championships in Athletics The 9th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held from 23 August to 31 August 2003 in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.-Track:...	Paris, France	6th	Marathon	2:26:29
	Tokyo International Marathon Tokyo International Women's Marathon The Tokyo International Women's Marathon was a marathon for female elite runners held in Tokyo from 1979 until 2008 in November.It was first held in November 1979, and this race was the first women's marathon officially sanctioned by the International Amateur Athletic Federation...	Tokyo, Japan	1st	Marathon	2:24:47
2004	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...	Athens, Greece	4th	Marathon	2:28:15 Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's Marathon The Women's Marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on August 22, 2004 in the streets of Athens, Greece. World record holder Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain started as favourite for the race, and led from the start. However, she was overtaken by Mizuki Noguchi, from Japan and...

Personal bests

• 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...
  
   - 15:59.99 min (2000)
• 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...
  
   - 1:09:46 hrs (2000)
• Marathon - 2:24:29 hrs (2001)

External links

• Sports Reference profile