| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1978-08-21)21 August 1978 (age 46) Tulu Bolo,Ethiopia |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Ethiopia |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Long-distance running |
Dejene Yirdaw (born 21 August 1978 inTulu Bolo) is an Ethiopianlong-distance runner who specialises in themarathon. He represented Ethiopia at the2009 World Championships in Athletics and has won theGyeongju International Marathon and theKosice Peace Marathon. He personal best for the distance is 2 hours and 8:30 minutes.
His first top level appearances came in 2007: he ran at the Nedbankhalf marathon inBloemfontein in April, coming seventh with a time of 1:03:51,[1] and then in October he entered into his firstmarathon race, theDublin Marathon, and managed to finish in third place with a time of 2:11:08.[2] He competed in theUnited States for the first time the following year and his run of 2:14:20 was enough for second place behindMichael Aish at theRock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon.[3] TheKosice Peace Marathon was the venue for his third outing over the distance that October, and he seized control of the race, outrunning even the officialpacemaker (David Makori). He completed his first win over the distance in a personal best time of 2:10:51 and became only the third Ethiopian to win the men's race, breaking an almost forty-year dry spell sinceAbebe Bikila andDemissie Wolde's wins in the 1960s.[4]
His performance at theSeoul International Marathon in 2009 gave Dejene a number of scalps over quicker, more established runners. Knocking almost two and a half minutes of his personal best, Dejene was the only athlete to pursue the eventual winnerMoses Arusei. Finishing as the runner-up with a time of 2:08:30, he had beaten pre-race favouritesJason Mbote andPaul Biwott by a margin of two minutes.[5] He was selected for the Ethiopian men's marathon team at the2009 World Championships in Athletics, earning his first major national selection at the age of 30. He finished in 15th place as the third fastest Ethiopian in 2:15:09, a time which (alongsideTsegay Kebede andYemane Tsegay) helped Ethiopia to the teamsilver medal as part of theMarathon World Cup section of the race.[6]
He began his 2010 season at theDubai Marathon in January and finished in seventh place.[7] He ran over 20 km at the20 van Alphen race in theNetherlands and managed second place behindBernard Chepkok with a best of 58:22 for the distance.[8] At theGyeongju International Marathon he completed his second sub-2:10 clocking to win the race in 2:09:13, holding off a challenge fromMoroccan runnerAbdellah Falil.[9]
