Melat Yisak Kejeta

Melat Yisak Kejeta (born 27 September 1992)[1] is a German long-distance runner.

Melat Yisak Kejeta
Melat Yisak Kejeta in 2017
Personal information
Born (1992-09-27) 27 September 1992
Sport
CountryGermany
SportAthletics
Event(s)Long-distance running
Coached byWinfried Aufenanger

Personal life

Kejeta was born in Ethiopia. She is a member of the Oromo ethnic group, like the Dibaba sisters who are among her role models.[2] She came to Germany in 2013 as a refugee and acquired German citizenship in March 2019.[3] She lives in Baunatal near Kassel with her husband whom she met in a German regional train.[4]

Career

She was a talented U20 runner and became good again after having gained a foothold in Germany.[5] In 2018, she improved her half marathon personal best to 1:08:41, which would have been 3rd place on the 2018 European top list had she already been a German citizen.[6]

In 2019, she made her marathon debut at the 2019 Berlin Marathon held in Berlin, Germany. She had prepared for that in Kenya under the guidance of Eliud Kipchoge's coach Patrick Sang who assessed her marathon potential to be somewhere in the range from 2:19 to 2:22.[7] She finished in 6th place in the women's category and ran 2:23:57, which as of 31 December 2020 is the fastest marathon debut by a German woman (previously Irina Mikitenko at the 2007 Berlin Marathon)[8] and places her 3rd in the German all-time top list behind Irina Mikitenko (2:19:19) and Uta Pippig (2:21:45).[2]

Since 6 March 2020, she is eligible to represent Germany in international championships.[1] She made her debut in the German national team in the women's race at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships held in Gdynia, Poland.[9][10] The winner was Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya with 1:05:16 a new world record for a women's only run. Kejeta won silver in 1:05:18.[11] This time was an improvement on her personal best by 3:23, on the German record by 2:40, and on the European record for women-only races by 1:07.[12][13] Kejeta's split time for the 10 km was 30:47, faster than the German national record for the 10 k.[14][15] Her performance also helped Germany to win an unexpected team bronze. These were the first German medals ever in a half marathon world championship.[12]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Germany
2020 World Championships (HM) Gdynia, Poland 2nd Half marathon 1:05:18

References
  1. "Melat Yisak Kejeta". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. Knuth, Johannes. "Geschmeidig in ein neues Leben". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  3. "Melat im Glück: Olympia jetzt großes Ziel". EAM Kassel Marathon (in German). Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  4. Brandbeck, Leonard. "Melat Kejetas Weg nach ganz vorne". www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. "Progression" section of "Melat Yisak Kejeta". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  6. "Records & Lists - European Athletics". European Athletics. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  7. Ermert, Christian. "Das ist die Marathon-Hoffnung Melat Kejeta". laufen.de (in German). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  8. "Melat Kejeta träumt von Marathon-Zeit unter 2:20 Stunden". www.leichtathletik.de | Das Leichtathletik-Portal (in German). Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  9. Wenig, Jörg. "Melat Kejeta gibt ihr Debüt im deutschen Nationalteam". laufen.de (in German).
  10. "Women's Half Marathon" (PDF). 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  11. Wenig, Jörg. "Melat Kejeta holt sensationell Silber und pulverisiert den deutschen Rekord". laufen.de (in German). Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  12. "Getting to know world half marathon silver medallist Melat Kejeta". European Athletics. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  13. "World Half Gdynia 2020 Jepchirchir world record | World Athletics". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  14. "Half Marathon Splits | World Athletics Half Marathon Championships". www.worldathletics.org. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  15. "Wahnsinns-Leistung: Melat Kejeta holt Silber und bricht 25 Jahre alten deutschen Rekord". www.leichtathletik.de | Das Leichtathletik-Portal (in German). Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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