Meselech Melkamu

Meselech Melkamu
Medal record
Meselech Melkamu at the 2009 World Championships.
Representing Ethiopia
Women's athletics
World Championships
	2009 Berlin	10,000 m
World Indoor Championships
	2008 Valencia	3000 m
World Cross Country Championships
	2004 Bruxelles	Junior race
	2006 Fukuoka	Long race
	2006 Fukuoka	Short race
	2007 Mombasa	Senior race
	2009 Amman	Senior race
	2010 Bydgoszcz	Senior race
African Championships
	2008 Addis Ababa	5000 m
	2010 Nairobi	10,000 m

Meselech Melkamu (Amharic: መሰለች መልካሙ; born 27 April 1985 in Debre Marqos) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. She defeated Meseret Defar to win the 5000 m gold medal at the 2008 African Athletics Championships but she is better known for her 29:53.80 run over 10,000 m which ranks her second on the all-time list, behind only world record holder Wang Junxia. She is the fourth woman (of five) in history to break the 30 minute barrier and one of three Ethiopians to accomplish the feat.

From 2012 onwards she began to compete in road races and won the Frankfurt Marathon in a course record of 2:21:01 hours.

She made her breakthrough in the junior ranks in 2004 by winning at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and then taking the 5000 m title at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics. She just missed the senior medals in 2005, taking fourth in the short race at the 2005 World Cross Country Championships and also fourth in the 5000 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. Her first major medals as a senior athlete came the following year as Melkamu won bronze medals in both the long and short races at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (also winning two team golds). She went on to win the Great Ireland Run the following month.