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From: Eri-International Sports Comments (michael.seium@gmail.com)
Date: Fri Oct 29 2010 - 15:00:41 EDT
Running Eritrea: The Emergence of a new running nation.
When most people think of long distance running and Africa, the nations
that come to mind quick are Kenya & Ethiopia. These two nations have
dominated the long distance sport for many decades and continue these
days to be top long distance running nations in the world just like
they were more than 50 years ago. In the early 2000's however a nation
less than 15 years independent and known more for soccer & cycling was
starting to get some attention internationally and in North America. It
was in the mid 1990’s when a young Eritrean-American who migrated here
at a young age and picked up the sport of running in the American inter
scholastic system took the college running scene by storm. Meb
Kiflezghi broke all kinds of records at UCLA (University of California
Los Angeles) and became one of the best runners in the history of the
sport. Another Eritrean who also pioneered the growth of the sport
Bolota Asmerom run for University of California at Berkley and
represented Eritrea in international competition. The blogger with
Olympic medalist & NYC marathon defending Champ.
Other runners also qualified and represented Eritrea from the U.S. A.
Meanwhile in Eritrea the sport of running started to get some
attention. The organization known as Eritrean American Athletics
Association lead by Yohanness Debesai and other Eritreans who had
different roles was officially established in the city of Atlanta
during the Eritrean Sports Festival annual event that took place in the
year 2001. The likes of Zeresenay Tadesse, Yared Asmerom, Samuel
Tsegai, Ali Abdella Afringi, Yonas kifle, Kidane Tadesse and more
runners including female runners like Simret Sultan, Nebiat
Habtemariam, & Furtuna Zegergish started to make headlines. VOTE for
Zeresenay: See link below. The Pride of the Running Nation.
As most of us know since then with the collaboration of EAAA and the
Eritrean National Sports Federation, the country continues to produce
more top notch long distance runners that are bringing amazing results.
It is also to be known that many other runners of Eritrean heritage
have excelled in different parts of the world including Canada’s top
runner Simon Bairu who was an NCAA champion at the University of
Wisconsin in Madison. Many more youngsters male and female have
attended college through scholarship as a result of the growth of the
sport. See a clip below titled Rookies vs the world where a very
articulate Simon Bairu is featured.
http://blip.tv/file/4282262
Most Athletics competitions particularly the sport of running is very
interactive. People learn from observing and following them sometimes
unconsciously. The running euphoria that has taken Eritreans by
surprise in the past decade is not any different. Eritreans and the
international community have started to witness, to watch, to
understand and experience the logic behind the very quick success of
Eritrean runners who have been registering amazing results in many
competitions throughout the world. Like everything else in Eritrea the
development of running is starting to be witnessed everywhere.
Though it garners less attention than cycling & soccer, thousands of
Eritreans throughout the world are already passionate about, and
conversant in the sport of running. In fact, it may well be the most
closely followed sport at the moment as a result of the success stories
of the greatest runner to come out of Eritrea Zeresenay Tadesse. Here
are updates, highlights and important information for all fans as the
New York City and Frankfurt Marathons are approaching us very soon.
* The MEB foundation will be inaugurated in New York City on Wed.
November the 3rd, 2010. The foundation initiated by New York City
Marathon defending champion Meb Kiflezghi will be a great source of
inspiration for health and competition running. MEB other than the name
stands for Maintain Excellent Balance.
* The IAAF is the international Athletics Association Federation, which
is the governing body of athletics.
* Currently there are 99 Eritrean Male runners and 39 Female runners
whose information can be found on the IAAF website. This can be found
by clicking athletes and choosing the country of Eritrea and then
clicking on the Eritrean athlete you would like to learn about.
* Also by clicking on the IAAF website while you are at it VOTE! VOTE!
For Zeresenay Tadesse whose accomplishments this year have been
AWESOME! He deserves the “MALE ATHELETE OF THE YEAR” award. Three
people will be chosen and we shall find out who the final winner will
be in November. Click on the following link and VOTE!
http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/athleteoftheyear2010/index.htmlVOTE!
VOTE!VOTE!VOTE! VOTE! ZERESENAY
* Meb Kiflezghi along with Simon Bairu both top runners in the U.S and
Canada will be competeing in the New York City Marathon on November
7th, 2010. Meb will be defending his title while this is the first
competition ever in the marathon for Simon Bairu. Both Athtletes are
NCAA champions at UCLA and University of Wisconsin in Madison.
* Yared Asmerom will be competing in the Frankfurt Marathon coming up
this weekend October 31st, 2010.
* Beraki Beyene Zerea finished in the top 10 in the Toronto Marathon in
September qualifying for the London Olympics in 2012 with a time of
2:11:22 He has also taken third in the Hamburg Marathon in Germany and
has quickly improved his time. His potential is unlimited.
Beraki Beyene Zerea the great Eritrean hope.
* In the high school and college scene Shewit Weldensea has been
showing some great success in the Raleigh North Carolina, winning
several competitions while Meron Fessehaye also in the North Carolina
(Charlotte) doing very well. We will try to feature more high school
runners as we gather more information. Mean while both Shewit and Meron
will be competing in major events this week. The Unique part about
Shewit is she has been very successful finishing in the top 10 in the
1500-meter, which is considered more of a middle distance running.
* Petros Welday from Maryland is also showing a lot of potential
finshing in top spot at a recently held national footlocker running
event. If there are any Eritrea runners who are doing well please don't
hesitate to contact us and respond back to this blog.
Abrar Ousman Not the singer but as you can see the 3000 meter Youth
Olympic Champion.
It is also to be remembered that this past September Eritrea stood
first in the 26th World Mountain Running Championship that was held in
Slovenia in which over 120 athletes from 40 countries took part. In the
men’s race covering 12 kilometers, Eritrean athletes finished 1st, 2nd,
4th, 6th, 9th and 12th respectively. Eritrea stood first followed by
USA and Italy. Similarly, Eritrean athlete Yosef Andemichael won gold
medal in the 8.5 Km-long similar junior men’s race. Meanwhile in
Singapore at the 2010 Youth Olympics, ERITREA'S ABRAR OSMAN Crossed the
FINISH LINE to win GOLD MEDAL IN THE MEN'S 3000M FINAL SINGAPORE 2010
YOUTH OLYMPIC GAME. Abrar Ousman took most Eritreans by storm when his
name was all over newspapers and websites. Some thought there was a
mishap since his namesake is one of the top Eritreans singers. See his
excellent win on the link below. Eri-International sports is proud of
all the hard work and dedication of Eritrean athletes.
Abrar Ousman winning the 3000 meters in
Singapore.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15tBtr0hUXU&feature=player_embedded
The writer of this blog is the current Information officer for EAAA.
Eri-International sports blog would also like to congratulate Merhawi
Kiflezghi the brother of Meb for working very hard to help up and
coming Eritrean and non-Eritrean athletes through his sports management
company known as Hawi Sports management. Merhawi began his career as a
student manager for the UCLA Men’s basketball team from 1999-2002; Hawi
was critical to the team’s success as a consistently top ranked NCAA
team. His experience on the court merged with his studies off the court
as he went on to receive a B.A in Communication Studies from UCLA and a
J.D. (Juris Doctor) Law degree from UCLA School of law will help out
his Eritrean and non-Eritrean clients and partners.
Eritrea's Struggle to Survive
-- Posted By Eri-International Sports Comments to Eri-International Sports at 10/29/2010 12:00:00 PM----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----