Hailu Mekonnen
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing  Ethiopia
|
||
| IAAF World Cross Country Championships | ||
 |
1999 Belfast | Short race |
|
2002 Dublin | Short race |
| All-Africa Games | ||
 |
1999 Johannesburg | 1500 m |
 |
2003 Abuja | 5000 m |
| Afro-Asian Games | ||
|
2003 Hyderabad | 5000 m |
Hailu Mekonnen (born April 4, 1980 in Arsi) is an Ethiopian runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres and cross-country running.
His first medals came in 1998, when he took bronze and team gold at the junior race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and won a silver in the 5000 m at the 1998 African Championships in Athletics. With Haile Gebrselassie as his training partner, he continued to improve, winning the junior race and taking bronze in the senior short course for a medalling double at the 1999 World Cross Country Championships. He also won the 1500 metres gold medal at the All-Africa Games that year.
Mekkonen attended the 1999 and 2001 World Championships in Athletics and represented Ethiopia at the 2000 Summer Olympics, but he failed to make the podium at any of the events. His form improved in 2002 and he won the short race bronze and team silver at the World Cross Country Championships. He focused on the track in 5000 m the next year and won the 2003 All-Africa Games silver and the 2003 Afro-Asian Games gold medal. After a long time out of the spotlight of international competition he re-emerged in 2009 after switching to the half marathon and marathon.
Mekonnen came to prominence at the age of eighteen with a silver medal performance in the 5000 m at the 1998 African Championships in Athletics, finishing behind reigning world champion Daniel Komen. He followed this up with a gold and team silver in the junior race and an individual and team bronze medal in the short race at the 1999 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He put much of his success down to the help he had received from Haile Gebrselassie, who was his training partner and mentor. He ran a world junior record in the 3000 m in Stuttgart, Germany, but this was never ratified as he did not undergo the doping controls necessary for record purposes. He finished seventh in the 5000 m at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics and closed the year with a 1500 metres gold medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games and a win at the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños. He set an indoor world record of 8:09.66 in the two miles in Birmingham in February. However, Mekonnen only managed sixth place in the short race at the 2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, but again he won the team bronze with Ethiopia. He represented his country at the 2000 Summer Olympics, finishing seventh in the semi-finals of the 1500 metres.
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