Terefe Mekonnen

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Terefe Mekonnen (* 1964 in Debre Berhan , Ethiopia ) is a former Ethiopian- Austrian long-distance runner who now appears as a running coach in Styria .

Career

Terefe Mekonnen was born in 1964 in the city of Debre Berhan in Ethiopia and started playing handball while still at school . Because of his speed, his trainer encouraged him to switch to running . At first he took part in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter disciplines and from 1986 also tried his hand at running a marathon . In 1983 he took part in junior running at the World Cross Country Championships in Gateshead , England . In 1992 he was invited by the organizer of the Vienna Spring Marathon to take part in it. With the aim of improving his personal best, Mekonnen finished in sixth place.

Subsequently, the Ethiopian decided to stay in Austria. Due to Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia in 1993, as a trained naval officer with no connection to the sea, he had no longer seen any career opportunities for himself. That is why he left the Ethiopian national team and was able to celebrate some successes with Austrian support in 1992 and 1993. He finished seventh at the 1992 Chicago Marathon , fourth at the 1992 Duisburg Marathon , and finished second at the 1993 Austin Marathon and the 1993 Dallas Half Marathon . In the same year, he finished tenth in the Vienna Spring Marathon Rank. In the following years he also achieved some successes, including becoming the Austrian state champion over 10,000 meters in Salzburg-Itzling in 1996, and setting a new world record in the 24-hour relay in 1997 .

In 1996 Mekonnen, who had been living in Weiz for several years after having previously lived in Kapfenberg , actually only took part in the Graz Marathon as a pacemaker for the favorite Tanzanian runners . After the runner favored for first place had fallen far behind, Mekonnen wanted to end his run early, but was asked by the race director to continue. As a representative of the Weiz-based Ponigl Road Runners , he surprisingly came first in the run on October 13, 1996 with a time of 2:22:15 hours. Only a few weeks later he achieved first place in the running cup in his home district Weiz in the M 30 age group. For his achievements he was named “Sportsman of the Year” at the Styria Sport Awards the following year. In the years that followed, the native Ethiopian, who soon moved to Graz and received Austrian citizenship in 1997 , had some successes before he largely withdrew from active running in the early 2000s.

Today (as of 2019), Mekonnen , who lives in Graz-Liebenau, is primarily a running coach . He had already started this activity during his active career with the support of friends and acquaintances. As a youth and adult trainer , he is currently active at LTC Deutschlandsberg , among others , and also trains the participants in the SIQ (Sport - Integration - Qualification) project at Caritas Austria , but also offers individual one-to-one training for athletes. Mekonnen is still in contact with many former Ethiopian runners such as Haile Gebrselassie , whom he met through his brother Tekeye , who was with him in the navy and in the same running club, or Haji Adilo .

Personal best times (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Terefe Mekonnen: Suddenly marathon winner. In: diepresse.com. March 29, 2011, accessed June 7, 2019 .
  2. ↑ The classic clock tower is celebrating . In: Small newspaper . October 3, 2013, p. 41 ( pressreader.com ).
  3. ↑ Final status WBLC 1996 , accessed on June 3, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Mekonnen, Terefe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ethiopian-Austrian long-distance runner
DATE OF BIRTH 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Debre Berhan , Ethiopia