Lemlem Hailu (Amharic: ለምለም ኃይሉ; born 21 May 2001)[1] is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 3000 metres at the 2022 World Indoor Championships.[2] Hailu earned bronze in the 1500 metres at the 2019 African Games.

Lemlem Hailu
Personal information
Full nameLemlem Hailu Techane
NationalityEthiopian
Born (2001-05-21) 21 May 2001 (age 23)
Sport
CountryEthiopia
SportAthletics
Event(s)Middle-, Long-distance running
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Ethiopia
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Belgrade 3000 m
African Games
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Rabat 1500 m
Youth Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Buenos Aires 1500 m + XC
World Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Nairobi 1500 m
African Youth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Algiers 1500 m

At age 16, she was the 1500 m 2017 World Youth champion to take a bronze in the event at the Youth Olympic Games a year later. She represented Ethiopia in the women's 1500 m at the 2019 World Championships and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Hailu holds the world junior indoor record in the event.

Career

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At age 16, Lemlem Hailu gained first international experience at the 2017 World Youth Championships in Nairobi, where she won the 1500 metres event. A year later, she took gold over the distance at the African Youth Games held in Algiers and went to Argentina for Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where she earned bronze in a combined 1500m event.[1]

In 2019, she captured the bronze medal for the 1500m at the African Games.[1] Hailu represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, reaching the semi-finals.[3]

In February 2020, she set a world under-20 record for the indoor 1500 metres with a time of 4:01.79, breaking by 0.02 s previous mark set by her compatriot Gudaf Tsegay in 2016. The same month, Hailu improved her record to 4m 1.57s, which was her fourth personal best achieved within three weeks.[4] In October, she won the 1500m race at the Kip Keino Classic.[1]

In 2021, Hailu secured an overall 3000m World Indoor Tour victory, winning two top-level meets. She won the event at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Liévin, and the Copernicus Cup in Toruń.[1] At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Hailu was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500m event.[5]

The next year, Hailu became the 3000m World indoor champion in Belgrade with a season's best of 8:41.82. Elle Purrier St. Pierre won silver in 8:42.04 while Hailu's compatriot Ejgayehu Taye was third in 8:42.23.[6]

Achievements

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International competitions

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Representing   Ethiopia
Year Competition Venue Position Event Result
2017 World Youth Championships Nairobi, Kenya 1st 1500 m 4:20.80
2018 African Youth Games Algiers, Algeria 1st 1500 m 4:36.71
Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires, Argentina 3rd 1500 m + XC 7 pts
2019 African Games Rabat, Morocco 3rd 1500 m 4:20.60
World Championships Doha, Qatar 18th (sf) 1500 m 4:16.56
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 18th (sf) 1500 m 4:03.76
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 1st 3000 m i 8:41.82 SB
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 17th 10,000 m 32:42.78
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 6th 3000 m 8:30.36

Circuit wins, and National titles

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Personal bests

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Road

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Lemlem HAILU – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ^ Johnson, Robert; Gault, Jonathan (2022-03-18). "Elle Purrier St. Pierre takes 3000m silver as Lemlem Hailu wins to cap day 1 at 2022 World Indoors". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  3. ^ "WCH 19 | Doha 2019 – 1500 metres Women | Semi-Final". World Athletics. 2019-10-05. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  4. ^ "Ratified: Hailu's world U20 indoor 1500m record of 4:01.57". World Athletics. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  5. ^ "The XXXII Olympic Games | Tokyo 2020 – 1500 metres Women | Semi-Final". World Athletics. 2021-08-02. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  6. ^ Dennehy, Cathal (2022-03-18). "Hailu kicks to thrilling 3000m victory in Belgrade". World Athletics. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
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