Teyba Erkesso
 Erkesso on the way to winning the 2010 Boston Marathon near halfway point |
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| Medal record | ||
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| Women's athletics | ||
Representing  Ethiopia
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| IAAF World Cross Country Championships | ||
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2004 Brussels | Short race |
Teyba Erkesso Wako (born 30 October 1982 in Arsi) is an Ethiopian runner who specializes in road running (including the half marathon and marathon) as well as cross-country running.
She began running for Ethiopia internationally at the age of sixteen and won her first gold medal at the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, helping the Ethiopian women to a team victory. She formed a key part of Ethiopian team competitions in her early career, helping them reach the podium at international events on numerous occasions. Her first individual medal came at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she won the bronze medal in the short race.
It was in road running competitions where she made her name. She won the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale at the age of 21 but only switched her focus to road running in 2007. After a fourth-place finish at the 2009 Chicago Marathon, she set a state record of 2:23:53 at the Houston Marathon (a personal best). She won her first major events in 2010, placing first in the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon and then the Boston Marathon. She is perhaps known for pushing the pace during the middle of the race, as she did in Boston and Houston to break away.
Her first major competition representing Ethiopia was the 1999 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, where she finished 38th overall at the age of sixteen. She improved to 20th place at the 2001 edition of the event, helping the Ethiopian women to the team bronze medal as a result. In the following year at the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships she finished tenth and took the gold medal in the team competition with Ethiopia. She returned to the World Half Marathon Championships in 2003, but did not repeat her medal success, finishing in 21st place and fourth overall with the women's team. One of her first ever road racing wins was at the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale in 2003, where she finished the half marathon in 1:10:07.
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