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Yalemzerf Yehualaw

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Yalemzerf Yehualaw
Yehualaw at the 2023 World Athletics Championships
Personal information
Full nameYalemzerf Yehualaw Densa
Born (1999-08-03) 3 August 1999 (age 25)
Finote Selam, Mirab Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia
SpouseGenetu Molalign
Sport
CountryEthiopia
SportAthletics
EventLong-distance running
TeamNN Running Team
Coached byTessema Abshero
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Ethiopia
World Half Marathon Championships
Gold medal – first place 2020 Gdynia Team race
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Gdynia Half marathon
African Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Rabat Half marathon
World Marathon Majors
Gold medal – first place 2022 London Marathon

Yalemzerf Yehualaw Densa (born 3 August 1999)[1] is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She won the 2022 London Marathon. Yehualaw is the current world record holder in the 10 kilometres road race, sits second on the world all-time list at the half marathon and tenth on the respective world all-time list for the marathon.[2]

Yehualaw recorded the then-fastest ever women's marathon debut at the time at the 2022 Hamburg Marathon.

Early life and background

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Yalemzerf Yehualaw was born the eldest of six siblings in Finote Selam in the West Gojjam area of the Amhara Region. Her name means in Amharic 'edge of the world'.[2]

She was winning track races at school from the age of 12 and later also youth track titles in her highly-competitive region. With wins on the track, road and cross country, she was invited to join the Ethiopian Youth Sport Academy in Addis Ababa where she currently lives, and then, after four years in 2017, to join the NN Running Team coached by Tessema Abshero.[3][4]

Career

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2019–2021

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A 19-year-old Yehualaw made her international debut in April 2019 at the Rabat Half Marathon in Morocco, where she took victory. The same year, she represented Ethiopia at the African Games held also in Rabat and won the women's half marathon event, breaking Games record in a time of 1:10:26.[5] She also won the Great Ethiopian Run, a 10 kilometres road race in Addis Ababa, setting a new course record of 31:55.[6]

She earned the bronze medal in the women's half marathon at the postponed 2020 World Half Marathon Championships held in Gdynia, Poland, just three seconds behind gold medallist Peres Jepchirchir.[7] A month later in November, Yehualaw competed at the Delhi Half Marathon in India where she faced a world-class field. In most impressive performance of her career up to that point, she won the race in a time of 1:04:46, the second-fastest women's time ever recorded for the distance, beating world record-holder Ababel Yeshaneh and 2019 World marathon champion Ruth Chepng'etich.[8]

In August 2021, Yehualaw competed in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Northern Ireland setting a new world record time of 63m 44s, the first women's mark under 64 minutes not ratified because the course was 54 metres short.[9] She ran legal 63m 51s in October at the Valencia Half Marathon thus securing second mark on the world all-time list behind team-mate Letesenbet Gidey, who set a world record in this race.[10]

2022: World 10 km record and London Marathon win

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In January, after having to withdraw from the Valencia 10 km two weeks earlier, Yehualaw bettered her own course record at the Great Ethiopian Run with a time of 31:17, the fastest 10 km ever recorded at altitude.[11]

On 27 February, she ran again 10 kilometres and set a new world record in the women's event in Castellón, Spain, slicing 24 seconds off the still-unratified mark held by Bahrain's Kalkidan Gezahegne since 2021, with a clocking of 29 minutes 14 seconds. At the time Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei held the ratified record of 29:43, set in 2017. Only two women ever had run faster over the distance on the track. She covered the first 5 km in 14:28 – just nine seconds slower than the world record for this distance.[12]

In April, in her anticipated first marathon, Yehualaw achieved the fastest ever women's marathon debut of 2:17:23 at the Hamburg Marathon, breaking the Ethiopian record, German all-comers' record, and putting her sixth on the world all-time list. She won by almost nine minutes (around three kilometres) in windy conditions.[13][14]

The 23-year-old successfully defended her Antrim Coast Half Marathon title in August, setting the UK all-comers' record with her joint fifth-fastest ever time of 64m 22s.[15]

On 2 October, Yehualaw took her first victory at a World Marathon Major at the London Marathon, becoming the youngest ever female winner of the London event. She clocked 2:17:26, only three seconds outside her personal best, after she fell over with about 10 km to go. She then soon broke clear of Joyciline Jepkosgei in second, with 24th mile in a quick 4:43 according to initial reports[A] — the fastest split in women's marathon history. Her finishing time was the third-fastest women's mark in the London event history, behind only the world records set by Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25) and Mary Keitany (2:17:01, women-only).[16][17]

2023–present

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Chasing her own world 10 km record in windy conditions at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja in January, Yehualaw missed it by 5 seconds to set a course record of 29:19, the second-fastest ever female performance in the event.[18] She finished fifth in her second appearance at the London Marathon in April in 2:18:53.[1]

Personal bests

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Type Event Time Place Date Notes
Track 5000 metres 14:53.77 Nice, France 12 June 2021
10,000 metres 30:20.77 Hengelo, Netherlands 8 June 2021
Road 5 km 15:27 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 15 March 2020
10 km 29:14 Castellón, Spain 27 February 2022 Mx, World record until 14 January 2024
Half marathon 63:51 Valencia, Spain 24 October 2021 Mx, 2nd of all time[19]
Marathon 2:16:52 Amsterdam, Netherlands 20 October 2024 Mx

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
Representing  Ethiopia
2019 African Games Rabat, Morocco 1st Half marathon 1:10:26 GR
2020 World Half Marathon Championships Gdynia, Poland 3rd Half marathon 1:05:19 PB
1st Team race 3:16:39
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th Marathon 2:26:13
World Marathon Majors
2022 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 1st Marathon 2:17:26
2023 London Marathon London, United Kingdom 5th Marathon 2:18:53
Road races
2019 Rabat Marathon Rabat, Morocco 1st Half marathon 1:09:13
Delhi Half Marathon New Delhi, India 2nd Half marathon 1:06:01
Great Ethiopian Run Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1st 10 km 31:55 CR
Xiamen International Marathon Xiamen, China 1st Half marathon 1:07:34
2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah, UAE 6th Half marathon 1:06:35
Women's First 5km Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2nd 5 km 15:27
Delhi Half Marathon New Delhi, India 1st Half marathon 1:04:46 CR
San Silvestre Vallecana Madrid, Spain 1st 10 km 31:17
2021 Istanbul Half Marathon Istanbul, Turkey 2nd Half marathon 1:04:40
Antrim Coast Half Marathon Larne, Northern Ireland 1st Half marathon 1:03:44
Valencia Half Marathon Valencia, Spain 2nd Half marathon 1:03:51
2022 Great Ethiopian Run Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1st 10 km 31:17 CR
10K Castelló Castellón, Spain 1st 10 km 29:14 WR
Hamburg Marathon Hamburg, Germany 1st Marathon 2:17:23 CR NR
Antrim Coast Half Marathon Larne, Northern Ireland 1st Half marathon 1:04:22 CR
2023 10K Valencia Valencia, Spain 1st 10 km 29:19 CR
2024 Amsterdam Marathon Amsterdam, Netherlands 1st Marathon 2:16:52 CR

Notes

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  1. ^ Official data and initial reports pointed out to a very fast 4:43 24th mile split. However, after further evaluation it was determined that the 24th-mile marker was situated at the wrong spot.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Yalemzerf YEHUALAW – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Whittington, Jess (27 October 2022). "Yehualaw, from 'edge of the world' to on top of it". World Athletics. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ Henderson, Jason (2 October 2022). "Yalemzerf Yehualaw makes a name for herself in London". AW. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. ^ Landells, Steve (1 December 2020). "After strong back-to-back runs, Yehualaw rises as a potent half marathon force". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Yalemzerf Yehualaw Densa". 2019 African Games Athlete Profile. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Aregawi and Yehualaw crowned champions at the 2019 Great Ethiopian Run". Ethiopian Embassy London. 20 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Women's Half Marathon" (PDF). 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Yehualaw runs second fastest women's half marathon ever in Delhi". AIMS-WorldRunning.org. 30 November 2020. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  9. ^ Dickinson, Marley (22 October 2021). "Yalemzerf Yehualaw's half marathon WR unratifiable due to course being short". RunningMagazine.ca. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Letesenbet Gidey takes world half-marathon record apart in Valencia". AW. 24 October 2021. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Yehualaw breaks race record at Great Ethiopian Run". World Athletics. 23 January 2022. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  12. ^ Brennan, Eliott (27 February 2022). "Yehualaw shatters women's 10km world record". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  13. ^ Smythe, Steve (26 April 2022). "Aleksandr Sorokin runs world 100km best – weekly round-up". AW. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Yehualaw runs 2:17:23 in Hamburg for fastest ever women's marathon debut". World Athletics. 24 April 2022. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Yehualaw and Yimer run UK all-comers' records in Larne". World Athletics. 28 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  16. ^ Gault, Jonathan; Johnson, Robert (2 October 2022). "Yalemzerf Yehualaw Runs 4:43 24th Mile To Break Open 2022 London Marathon, Wins in 2:17:26". LetsRun.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  17. ^ Ingle, Sean (2 October 2022). "Yehualaw becomes youngest woman to win London Marathon despite faceplant". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  18. ^ Henderson, Jason (15 January 2023). "Yehualaw gives world 10km record a fright". AW. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  19. ^ "All time Top lists – Half Marathon Women | Senior World". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  20. ^ Johnson, Robert (3 October 2022). "Upon Further Review, Yalemzerf Yehualaw Did Not Run A Record-Breaking 4:43 Mile in the 2022 London Marathon". LetsRun.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
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