Alemitu Bekele 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-born Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 long-distance runner who specializes in 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...

.

She was born in Shoa, Ethiopia. In the 5000 metres she finished seventh at the 2008 Olympic Games. In the 3000 metres she won the gold medal at the 2009 European Indoor Championships

2009 European Indoor Championships in Athletics

The 30th European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena which has a seating capacity of 6,600 people....

, and also competed at the 2008 World Indoor Championships

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships - Women's 3000 metres

-Medalists:-Heats:-Final:...

 without reaching the final round.

She set an indoor European record at the beginning of 2010: her time of 14:46.44 at the GE Galan

GE Galan

The XL Galan is an annual indoor athletics event held in February at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting was first held in 1990 and from 2000 to 2010 known as GE Galan, because General Electric was the official title sponsor...

 was enough to beat Gabriela Szabo

Gabriela Szabo

Gabriela Szabo is a Romanian track and field athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics in 5000 m and winner of bronze and silver medals in 1996 Summer Olympics and 2000 Summer Olympics in 1500 m, respectively....

's 11-year-old mark. Despite this achievement, which made her the fifth fastest of all-time over the distance, she finished some twenty seconds adrift of winner Meseret Defar

Meseret Defar

Meseret Defar is a female long-distance runner from Ethiopia who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 metres...

 who narrowly missed the world record.

She won the 5,000 meters at the 2010 European Athletics Championships in a championship-record time of 14 minutes, 52.20 seconds at Barcelona's Olympic stadium. She represented Team Europe at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup

2010 IAAF Continental Cup

The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 2008 when the IAAF revamped the competition format...

 and claimed the 3000 m 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....

 behind Meseret Defar

Meseret Defar

Meseret Defar is a female long-distance runner from Ethiopia who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 metres...

. She opened her 2011 season at the Cinque Mulini

Cinque Mulini

The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills, which lend the competition its name – meaning Five Mills in Italian. It is one of the IAAF cross country permit...

 and won the individual title as well as the team title for Üsküdar Belediyesi Spor Kulübü as part of the European Cross Country Club Championships.

Personal bests

Distance	Time	Location	Date
1500 m	4:02:20	Izmir, Turkey	July 1, 2010
3000 m	8.35.19	Lousanne, Switzerland	July 8, 2010
3000 m (indoor)	8:46:50 NR	Torino, Italy	March 8, 2009
5000 m	14:52:20 CR	Barcelona, Spain	August 1, 2010
5000 m (indoor)	14:46.44 ER	Stockholm, Sweden	February 10, 2010

• NR National record
  National records in athletics
  National records in athletics are the marks achieved by a nation's best athlete in a particular athletics event. These records are ratified by the respective national athletics governing body...
  
  
• CR Championships record
• ER European record

Performance progression

Distance	Season	Time	Location	Date
1500 m	2000	4:11.28	Kavala, Greece	July 2, 2000
	2007	4:12.68	Istanbul, Turkey	June 30, 2007
	2008	4:06.32	Istanbul, Turkey	June 26, 2008
	2009	4:13.69	Berlin, Germany	August 18, 2009
1 mile	2000	4:34.49	İstanbul, Turkey	June 24, 2000
	2008	4:33.46	İstanbul, Turkey	June 7, 2008
3000 m	2007	8:55.51	Sofia, Bulgaria	July 5, 2007
3000 m (indoor)	2009	8:56.73	Paiania, Greece	February 9, 2008
	2009	8:46.50	Torino, Italy	March 8, 2009
5000 m	2008	15:05.85	Izmir, Turkey	May 31, 2008
	2009	15:18.18	Berlin, Germany	August 22, 2009
	2010	14:52.20	Barcelona, Spain	August 1, 2010
	2010	14:42.62	Stockholm, Sweden	August 6, 2010

External links