Tiki Gelana facts for kids
Tiki Gelana at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Ethiopian | |||||||||||||
| Born | 22 October 1987 Jijiga, Ethiopia |
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| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||
| Weight | 48 kg (106 lb) | |||||||||||||
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| Country |  Ethiopia |
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| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Long distance running | |||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) |
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Medal record
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Erba Tiki Gelana (Amharic: ኧርባ ቲኪ ገላና) was born on October 22, 1987. She is a famous long-distance runner from Ethiopia. She is best known for winning the gold medal in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics. Her amazing time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 7 seconds set a new Olympic record for the marathon!
Tiki also set an Ethiopian national record for the marathon in 2012 with a time of 2:18:58. This record stood for five years. She has won other big races too, like the 2011 Amsterdam Marathon and the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon.
Contents
Tiki's Running Journey
Tiki Gelana grew up in Jijiga, a city in Ethiopia known for producing great runners. She is even a cousin of Gezahegne Abera, who won the Olympic marathon in 2000.
Tiki started competing in road races in Ethiopia. In 2004, she finished fourth in the Great Ethiopian Run.
Early Races and Achievements
In 2006, Tiki traveled to Spain. There, she started running half marathon races. She won races in Mataró and Terrassa. At the end of that year, she also won a 10K race called San Silvestre Barcelonesa.
The next year, 2007, Tiki went to Japan. She won the 10K race at the Sanyo Road Race. Her time of 31 minutes and 54 seconds made her one of the fastest Ethiopian runners that year.
In 2008, Tiki won the Women First 5K race in Addis Ababa. She also came fourth at the World 10K Bangalore. That summer, she competed in Europe. She set her best times for the 5000 metres (15:17.74 minutes) and 10,000 metres (31:27.80 minutes).
Marathon Debut and Breakthrough Wins
In late 2008, Tiki finished sixth at the Delhi Half Marathon. She made her debut in a marathon race in October 2009. This was at the Dublin Marathon, where she finished third.
In 2010, she improved her marathon time to 2:29:53 hours. She finished fourth at both the Los Angeles Marathon and the Dublin Marathon that year.
The year 2011 was a big one for Tiki. She won the Amsterdam Marathon with a time of 2:22:08 hours. This was almost eight minutes faster than her previous best! It also broke a nine-year-old course record.
In February 2012, she won the Kagawa Marugame Half Marathon. Her time of 1:08:48 hours was her personal best for a half marathon.
Olympic Gold and Records
Tiki broke the Ethiopian record at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon. She won the race in 2:18:58 hours. This made her the fourth fastest woman ever to run a marathon at that time. Because of this amazing performance, she was chosen to represent Ethiopia at the Olympics.
At the London 2012 Olympics, Tiki won the gold medal in the marathon. She set a new Olympic record with her time of 2:23:07 hours. It was raining during the race, and she even fell at a water station, but she still won!
After the Olympics, she ran her personal best for the half marathon. She finished third at the Great North Run with a time of 1:07:48. She also ran a 15 km race in 48:09 minutes. For her great performances that year, she received the AIMS World Athlete of the Year Award.
Later Races
In 2013, Tiki won the Marugame Half Marathon again, defending her title.
During the 2013 London Marathon, Tiki had an accident. She bumped into a wheelchair racer at a water station. She was able to continue the race but finished in 16th place. Because of this, the London Marathon changed its starting rules for 2014. Wheelchair athletes now start before the women's race.
Tiki was chosen for the Ethiopian team for the 2013 World Championships in Athletics in Moscow. However, she had to drop out of the race early because of the hot and humid weather.
In the 2014 London Marathon, Tiki finished in ninth place.
Personal bests
- 10,000 metres – 31:27.80 min (2008)
- 10 km road – 31:54 min (2007)
- 15 km road - 48:09 min (2012)
- Half marathon – 1:08:48 hours (2012)
- Marathon – 2:18:58 hours (2012)
Road race wins
- Amsterdam Marathon: 2011
- Kagawa-Marugame Half Marathon: 2012, 2013
- Rotterdam Marathon: 2012
- Olympic marathon: 2012
See also
In Spanish: Tiki Gelana para niños
