Teyba Erkesso facts for kids
 Erkesso on the way to winning the 2010 Boston Marathon near halfway point |
||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's athletics | ||
Representing  Ethiopia |
||
| IAAF World Cross Country Championships | ||
| Bronze | 2004 Brussels | Short race |
Teyba Erkesso Wako (born October 30, 1982) is a famous runner from Ethiopia. She is known for her amazing speed in long-distance races. Teyba is a specialist in road running, which includes races like the half marathon and the full marathon. She also competes in cross-country running, where athletes run over natural terrain.
Teyba started running for Ethiopia when she was just sixteen years old. She quickly showed her talent. In 2002, she won her first gold medal at the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. This win helped the Ethiopian women's team take home the team victory. Early in her career, Teyba was a key part of the Ethiopian team, helping them win many medals in international events. Her first individual medal was a bronze medal in the short race at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
She became especially well-known for her success in road running. At 21, she won the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale. However, she only started focusing mainly on road running in 2007. After finishing fourth at the 2009 Chicago Marathon, she set a new personal best time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 53 seconds at the Houston Marathon. In 2010, she won two major races: the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon and the famous Boston Marathon. Teyba is often remembered for how she pushes the pace in the middle of a race, pulling ahead of other runners.
Contents
Teyba's Running Journey
Teyba's first big race for Ethiopia was the 1999 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She was only sixteen and finished 38th. She improved a lot by 2001, finishing 20th at the same event. This helped the Ethiopian women's team win a bronze medal.
In 2002, at the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, she finished tenth. More importantly, she helped her team win the gold medal! She raced again in the World Half Marathon Championships in 2003. She finished 21st, and her team placed fourth. One of her first wins in road racing was the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale in 2003. She completed the half marathon in 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 7 seconds.
Success in Cross Country
In 2004, Teyba competed in both the long and short races at the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Brussels. She finished fifth in the long race, helping her team win gold. Then, she won her first individual medal, a bronze, in the short race. Her team also won gold in that event! She continued her success by winning the IAAF's Lotto Cross Cup Brussels cross country meeting two years in a row, in 2005 and 2006.
She ran in two races again at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. This time, she was not as successful in the long race, finishing 46th. However, she still finished twelfth in the short race and helped her team win another gold medal.
Winning Major Marathons
Teyba won the Vancouver Sun Run 10K race in 2007. In 2009, she won the Bay to Breakers race with a time of 38 minutes and 29 seconds. That same year, she just missed a medal at the Chicago Marathon, finishing fourth.
She won the Houston Marathon in 2009, setting a new record for the state. She improved this record even more when she won the Houston Marathon again in 2010, finishing in 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 53 seconds. In 2010, she also set a new personal best in the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, finishing fourth with a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes, and 41 seconds.
Her biggest win came in April 2010 when she won the Boston Marathon. This is one of the most famous marathons in the world! She finished in 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 11 seconds. Teyba took the lead halfway through the race and kept increasing her distance. She just managed to hold off another runner, Tatyana Pushkareva, right at the end.
Later in 2011 and 2012, Teyba faced some challenges. She missed most of the 2011 season and had to stop early in her races at the 2011 Boston Marathon and the 2012 Ottawa Marathon.
Teyba's Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Ethiopia |
|||||
| 1999 | World Half Marathon Championships | Palermo, Italy | 38th | Half marathon | |
| 2001 | World Half Marathon Championships | Bristol, United Kingdom | 20th | Half marathon | |
| 3rd | Team | ||||
| 2002 | World Cross Country Championships | Dublin, Ireland | 10th | Long race | |
| 1st | Team | ||||
| 2003 | World Half Marathon Championships | Vilamoura, Portugal | 21st | Half Marathon | |
| 4th | Team | ||||
| Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale | Marseille, France | 1st | Half Marathon | ||
| 2004 | World Cross Country Championships | Brussels, Belgium | 5th | Long race | |
| 1st | Team | ||||
| 3rd | Short race | ||||
| 1st | Team | ||||
| World Half Marathon Championships | New Delhi, India | 15th | Half marathon | ||
| 1st | Team | ||||
| 2006 | World Cross Country Championships | Fukuoka, Japan | 12th | Short race | |
| 1st | Team | ||||
| 48th | Long race | ||||
| World Road Running Championships | Debrecen, Hungary | 10th | 20 km | ||
| 2nd | Team | ||||
| 2007 | All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | 5th | 10,000 m | |
| 2009 | Houston Marathon | Houston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:24:15 |
| 2010 | Houston Marathon | Houston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:23:53 |
| Boston Marathon | Boston, United States | 1st | Marathon | 2:26:11 | |
Teyba's Best Times
These are Teyba Erkesso's personal best times in different running events:
- 3000 metres - 8 minutes, 56.67 seconds (2006)
- 5000 metres - 15 minutes, 2.28 seconds (2004)
- 10,000 metres - 31 minutes, 13.67 seconds (2007)
- Half marathon - 1 hour, 7 minutes, 41 seconds (2010)
- Marathon - 2 hours, 23 minutes, 53 seconds (2010)
