Dejen Gebremeskel

Dejen Gebremeskel (Amharic: ደጀን ገብረመስቀል; born 24 November 1989) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who primarily competes in track events. His personal best of 12:46.81 minutes for the 5000 metres ranks him as the fifth fastest of all time for the distance. He was the 5000 m silver medallist at the 2012 London Olympics and took the bronze medal over that distance at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics. He won his first track medals as a junior, coming second at the African Junior Athletics Championships, then taking the bronze medal at the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He was a finalist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in 2010 and 2012. He is a five-time winner of the Carlsbad 5000. Career Junior career Dejen Gebremeskel grew up in the rural setting of Ethiopia's Gulo-Makeda woreda and took up running as a child, representing his school. He began competing around the Tigray Region and after establishing himself in local races, he moved to Addis Ababa to train with the national team.