Mizan Mehari

Mizan Mehari (28 January 1980 – 10 May 2007) was an Ethiopian born Australian athlete who competed in long-distance running events. He represented Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Junior career Mehari was originally from Addis Ababa and represented Ethiopia in junior athletics. He placed fifth in the junior race at the 1996 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

Asylum After competing in Sydney at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics, Mehari was one of four Ethiopians to seek political asylum in Australia, saying they faced ethnic discrimination back home and the threat of death or imprisonment. He ended up moving to Canberra and joined the Australian Institute of Sport, under the coaching of Dick Telford. In order to improve his limited English he enrolled in a language course at Dickson College. Any money he made in competition he sent back to his family, who remained in Ethiopia. He was said to have been impatient with his rate of improvement and expressed a wish to train with better athletes in order to fulfil his potential.

In May 1999 he became an Australian citizen and needed an advance on his AIS scholarship money in order to buy a new passport. He ran the final in 13:42.03 and finished 12th out of the 15 competitors.

Death Mehari committed suicide at Mount Ainslie on 10 May 2007. Donations were sought to enable his body to be flown back home to his family. His memorial service was held in Queanbeyan on 19 May.