 Kifle at the 2009London Marathon | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Eritrean |
| Born | (1977-11-05)November 5, 1977 (age 48) Adi Bilay,Ethiopia |
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft5+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Eritrea |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Marathon |
| Updated on 22 July 2012 | |
Yonas Andebrhan Kifle (born 5 November 1977)[1] is anEritrean runner who specializes in the10,000 metres, themarathon andcross-country running. He has representedEritrea at the Olympics on four occasions; in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. He has also competed at World Championship-level in cross country,road running, and on the track indoors and outdoors.
He was the bronze medallist in thehalf marathon at the2007 All-Africa Games and the2005 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. His personal bests include 59:30 minutes for the half marathon and 2:07:34 hours for themarathon (anEritrean record).
Kifle was born inAdi Billai in Eritrea'sDebub Region. He made his first international appearance for Eritrea at the age of 21, running in the3000 metres at the1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships. He finished in last place and was over twenty seconds behind the rest of the runners.[2] His first international outdoor competition followed later that year and he ran in the heats of the5000 metres at the1999 World Championships in Athletics in Seville. In 2000 he came 61st at the2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and made his Olympic debut with a performance in the heats of the10,000 metres at the2000 Sydney Olympics. He began to improve from the 2002 season onwards: he was eighth in the long race at the2000 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, fourth at the2002 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships with a time of 1:01:05 hours, and came sixth over 5000 m at the2002 African Championships in Athletics.[3] He also won theCursa de Bombers 10K in Spain that year.
Kifle was injured in the 2003 season, but came back in 2004 with a top ten finish at the2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and a second Olympic appearance on the track, taking 16th in the 10,000 m final at the2004 Athens Olympics. He was eleventh in the 10,000 m at the2005 World Championships in Athletics and won his first major individual medal with a third-place finish at the2005 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. He made the top ten at both the2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships.[4] He had some of his best half marathon performances in 2007, including abronze medal at the2007 All-Africa Games and set a significant personal best of 59:30 minutes to take fifth at the2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships.[3]
On hismarathon debut, he was fifth at the 2007Amsterdam Marathon with a personal best time of 2:07:34 hours – anEritrean record.[5] At the 2008London Marathon he ran a time of 2:08:51 for seventh place.[6]
Kifle attempted his firstOlympic marathon at the2008 Beijing Games, but he could only manage 36th place overall. He was seventh for a second year running at the2009 London Marathon having finished in 2:08:28.[7] He took part in the marathon at the2009 World Championships in Athletics and was in contention up to the 30 km but he dropped out soon after and did not finish the race.[8][9]
He ran at the2010 London Marathon and finished in ninth place with a time of 2:14:39, behind compatriotZersenay Tadese.[10] Kifle was chosen to compete at the2011 World Championships in Athletics, but he failed to finish the men's marathon race. He ran his best time since 2009 at the 2012Seoul International Marathon (2:08:51) and he was the only non-Kenyan runner to feature in the top ten.[11] At the 2012 Summer Olympics he finished in 58th place.[12]
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flagbearer for Eritrea Athens 2004 | Succeeded by |
