Weini Kelati

Early life and asylum in the United States Kelati is from Tsada Kristian, a district center of Berikh, 5 miles west of Asmara, in the Central Region of Eritrea. She started running competitively when a physical education teacher at her school encouraged her to take up the sport. In July 2014, at the age of 17, she traveled to Eugene, Oregon to compete in the 3000 m at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Following the competition, Kelati intentionally missed her return flight to Eritrea and sought asylum in the United States. She did not disclose this plan beforehand to her family back in Eritrea.

A relative in Leesburg, Virginia became Kelati’s legal guardian, and she joined Heritage High School, where she began competing in cross country and track. and she finished 20th at the Footlocker Cross Country Championships. In 2015, the high school senior finished first in both the Virginia State Cross Country Championships and the Footlocker Cross Country Championships.

On the track, Kelati placed first in the outdoor 3200 m at the 2016 Virginia Outdoor Track and Field Championship. She also finished first in several national competitions. These victories included a national high school girls' record for the indoor 5000 m with her time of 16:08.83 at the New Balance Nationals Indoor in March 2016. In November 2016, she committed to run for the University of New Mexico.

College While at the University of New Mexico, Kelati recorded several All American finishes in cross country. At the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 2017 and 2018, she finished seventh and second, respectively. She then went on to win the competition in 2019 in 19:47.5, which was 9.6 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, Alicia Monson, in the largest margin of victory since 2007. Her win helped her team, the New Mexico Lobos, secure a fourth-place finish. She was subsequently named the Honda Sports Award recipient for cross country. On the track, she won a national title in the 10000 m of the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, finishing in 33:10.84.

Professional

2020–2021 Kelati announced her decision to turn professional in December 2020, foregoing her remaining NCAA eligibility at the University of New Mexico. She took part in the 10000 m of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelati did not finish the race, dropping out after 7000 m. In November, she won the USATF 5K Road Championships in a course record of 15:18.

2022 Kelati competed in January at the 2022 USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego, California, where she placed second. The following month, at the 2022 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, she finished third in the 3000 m, clocking a time of 8:47.8. At the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held in July, she finished fourth in the 5000 m. In November, Kelati won the USATF 5K Championships for the second year in a row, while lowering the course record she established in 2021 by two seconds. That same month, Kelati defended her title at the Manchester Road Race, setting a course record in the process.

2023 In January, Kelati finished fifth at the 2023 USA Cross Country Championships held in Richmond, Virginia, which qualified her to compete for the United States at the 44th World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia on February 18, 2023. Kelati 21st while dealing with hip pain and miscounting a lap. She was the second American to cross the finish line, following her former University of New Mexico teammate, Ednah Kurgat, who came in 18th.

In July, Kelati participated in the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 5000 m and 10000 m, finishing in eighth and fourth, respectively. In September, she clinched a first-place finish at the USATF 10 km Championships. The following month, she finished fifth in the 5k at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia. In November, Kelati contested the USATF 5K Championships, and while she entered the race as the two-time defending champion, she finished in fifth place.

2024 Kelati placed fourth at the Houston Half Marathon in 1:06:25 on January 14, setting the American record in the event and averaging 5:04 minutes per mile. En route to the finish, she also set a North American record for 20 km (63:05). Six days after setting an American record for the half marathon in Houston, Kelati won the 10-kilometer race at USATF National Club Cross Country Championships at Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia with a time of 32:58.6. In March, she represented the United States at the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, where she finished in 15th as the top American. At the 2024 Olympic Trials, Kelati won a national title in the 10000m, which qualified her to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

2025 Kelati improved her American record in the half marathon by 16 seconds in January, running 1:06:09 to finish second at the Houston Half Marathon.

Personal life After receiving asylum in the US in 2014, Kelati was unable to see her mother for eight years. It was not until she became a U.S. citizen (a status that granted her the freedom to travel internationally) that she was able to reunite with her mother in Uganda. Sprinter Usain Bolt is her favorite athlete.

High school competition All results from athlete's profile on Milesplit VA.