1. Dejen Gebremeskel is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who primarily competes in track events.
18 Facts About Dejen Gebremeskel
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Dejen Gebremeskel won his first track medals as a junior, coming in second at the African Junior Athletics Championships, then taking the bronze medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics.
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Dejen Gebremeskel was a finalist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2010 and 2012.
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Dejen Gebremeskel is a five-time winner of the Carlsbad 5000.
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Dejen Gebremeskel grew up in the rural setting of Gulo-Makeda woreda in northern Ethiopia and took up running as a child, representing his school.
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Dejen Gebremeskel began competing around the Tigray Region and after establishing himself in local races, he moved to Addis Ababa to train with the national team.
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Dejen Gebremeskel won his first international medal at the 2007 African Junior Athletics Championships, taking the silver medal over 5,000 metres behind Mathew Kisorio.
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Dejen Gebremeskel ran for Ethiopia at the International Chiba Ekiden in 2008 and helped the team to victory, running the fastest time for his leg of the road relay.
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Dejen Gebremeskel was fourth in the junior category at the 2008 Ethiopian Cross Country Championships and was selected for the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he finished 18th.
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Dejen Gebremeskel ran the second fastest qualifying time, but did not perform as well in the event final, coming tenth.
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Dejen Gebremeskel debuted over the 10K road distance later that month and was runner-up to Sammy Kitwara at the World's Best 10K with a time of 27:45.
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Dejen Gebremeskel was the last of the quartet to cross the line, but Imane Merga was disqualified after the medal ceremony as he had run outside of the track lanes.
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Dejen Gebremeskel was promoted to the bronze medal, repeating his placing from the junior ranks three years previously.
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Dejen Gebremeskel won the Carlsbad 5000 for a second year running in March 2012.
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Dejen Gebremeskel ended the year with a fourth-place finish at the Weltklasse Zurich, finishing second in the Diamond League rankings after Isaiah Kiplangat Koech.
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At the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Dejen Gebremeskel finished 16th in the 10,000 metres in a time of 27.51.88.
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In 2013, Dejen Gebremeskel held the world leading time for 10,000 metres of 26:51.02, which he set at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sollentuna, Sweden.
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Dejen Gebremeskel went on to win his fourth straight Carlsbad 5000 race in 13:13, this time over American rival Bernard Lagat.