Meseret Mengistu

Meseret Mengistu Biru (born 6 March 1990) is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running events. She holds a personal best of 2:23:26 hours for the marathon. She represented Ethiopia at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2008 and 2010, winning a team silver medal at the latter edition. She was the 2015 winner of the Paris Marathon, improving her best by over six minutes in the process. She had her second win over the distance at the 2016 Beijing Marathon.

Career Born in Sendafa in Ethiopia's Oromia Region, Meseret began her road running career in 2008. She was runner-up at the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale that year and returned to win a year after. She began to establish herself as an elite runner in the 2009 season with wins at the Crazy 8s 8K Run and Wharf to Wharf Race and a runner-up finish at the Peachtree Road Race. The half marathon proved to be her best event, as she came third at the Virginia Beach Half Marathon before winning the Reims Half Marathon in a best of 69:45 minutes. Still a junior that year, she also ran at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and placed ninth in the junior race.

She made her marathon debut at the Rotterdam Marathon in 2010 and recorded a time of 2:34:07 hours for eighth. She was selected for the Ethiopian squad for the 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and her sixth-place finish helped her teammates Dire Tune and Feyse Tadese to the silver medals. After this point she began to focus more on professional marathon racing.

Personal bests 5000 metres – 16:12.67 min (2009) 10K run – 32:26 min (2009) Half marathon – 69:31 min (2010) Marathon – 2:23:26 (2015)

All information from World Athletics profile

International competitions

Road race wins Beijing Marathon: 2016 Cape Town Marathon: 2014 Soweto Marathon: 2014 Paris Marathon: 2013 Two Oceans Half Marathon: 2013 Reims Half Marathon: 2009 Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale: 2009