Mert Girmalegesse

Mert Girmalegesse (birth name Shimelis Girma ; born November 30, 1987 ) is a Turkish long-distance runner of Ethiopian origin.

In 2003 he won the bronze medal over 3000 m at the World Athletics Championships . In 2007 he set a course record in the 15 km run of the Istanbul Marathon . The following year he was naturalized in Turkey as Selim Bayrak .

With the national record of 27: 47.75 minutes, he qualified on April 12 in Istanbul for the 10,000-meter run of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. There he improved this mark to 27: 29.33 min in eleventh place. In autumn he won again the Istanbul Marathon over 15 km with the national record of 43:54 minutes.

At the European Athletics Indoor Championships 2009 in Turin, he was fifth over 3000 m .

In 2010 it adopted its current name. He starts for the athletics department of Fenerbahçe Istanbul .

Personal bests

• 1 mile : 4: 00.58 min, June 7, 2008, Istanbul
• 3000 m: 7: 55.12 min, July 12, 2003, Sherbrooke
  • Hall: 7: 45.46 min, March 7, 2009, Turin (Turkish record)
• 5000 m : 13: 26.14 min, June 4, 2008, Izmir (Turkish record)
• 10,000 m: 27: 29.33 min, August 17, 2008, Beijing (Turkish record)
• 15 km road run : 43:22 min, October 28, 2007, Istanbul

Web links

• Mert Girmalegesse in the database of World Athletics (English)