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| Personal information | |
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| Born | (1986-01-23)January 23, 1986 (age 39) |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Weight | 95 lb (43 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Ethiopia |
| Sport | Women'sathletics |
Gelete Burka Bati (sometimes misspelledBurika,Oromo: Galate Burqaa Baati,Amharic: ገለቴ ቡርቃ; born 23 January 1986) is an Ethiopianmiddle-distance andlong-distance runner. She was born inKofele in theArsi Zone of theOromia Region, the same district as double Olympic championHaile Gebrselassie.
Gelete was the short course champion at the2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She is a three-time medalist at theIAAF World Indoor Championships, her best performance being a gold medal win in the 1500 m in 2008. She is a four-time participant at theWorld Championships in Athletics (2005 to 2011) and represented Ethiopia at the Olympics in both 2008 and 2012.
She has also medalled on the regional stage, having been the runner-up at the2010 African Championships in Athletics and the gold medallist at the2007 All-Africa Games. She was theAfrican record holder for themile run and the indoor 1500 m.
Burka's first significant achievement was at the2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she won thebronze in the junior race. She made her first impact in senior athletics later that year when, following the Ethiopian federation's refusal to allowMerima Denboba to compete, Burka took the women's race at theLotto Cross Cup Brussels. She returned to Belgium the following year and repeated the feat.[1] After becoming junior world champion incross country running at the2005 World XC Championships, she competed at the2005 World Championships in Athletics to finish eighth in the1500 metres race. A month later she won the bronze medal in3000 metres at theWorld Athletics Final. She closed the season with a win at the SpanishCross Internacional de Venta de Baños.[2]
In April 2006 she won the short race at theWorld Cross Country Championships, as well as agold medal in the team competition. She established herself as a force to be reckoned with on the cross country circuit, winning theGreat Edinburgh International Cross Country three times consecutively from 2006 to 2008 and taking theCross Internacional de Itálica title in 2007. Internationally, in 2007 she placed fourth at theWorld Cross Country Championships, was the 1500 m winner at theAll-Africa Games and was tenth in the 5000 m at the2007 World Championships in Athletics. She had improved her 5000 m best to 14:31.20 minutes that year.[3] She was sixth at the2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
She represented her country at the2008 Summer Olympics, but failed to make it out of the 1500 m heats. In September 2008 she set a new one mileAfrican record of 4:18.23. The previous record (4:20.79) was held byHassiba Boulmerka ofAlgeria and was set in 1991.[4] She was a finalist at the2009 World Championships in Athletics, but finished last in tenth place. She attempted to defend her 1500 m title at the2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but was beaten by a younger Ethiopia (Kalkidan Gezahegne) and took thebronze medal on this occasion. She claimed thesilver medal behind reigning Olympic championNancy Langat at the2010 African Championships in Athletics in the outdoor season.[5]
During the2011 IAAF Diamond League circuit, she won the 1500 m at thePrefontaine Classic, but did not manage to finish the distance during the semi-finals at the2011 World Championships in Athletics. She came second to a returningTirunesh Dibaba at the 2011San Silvestre Vallecana 10K race.[6]
Gelete reached the podium for the third time running at the2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing behindHellen Obiri andMeseret Defar in the 3000 m.[7] Newly focused on distances from 3000 m upwards, she came fourth in the2012 IAAF Diamond League races in Doha, Rome, Lausanne and Brussels that year, and her best on the circuit was a third place at theAdidas Grand Prix in New York.[8] She represented Ethiopia in the 5000 m for the first time at theLondon Olympics and came in fifth place.[9] She made her debut over the 15K road distance at theZevenheuvelenloop, placing fifth, then ended the year with at theSan Silvestre Vallecana with anEthiopian record of 30:53 minutes for the 10K road distance.[10][11]
She began 2013 with a win at theCross Internacional Juan Muguerza.[12]
Gelete Burka placed 8th in 30:26.66 atAthletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's 10,000 metres.
African Champions in women's1500 metres | |
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Paris Marathon – women's winners | |
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