ATHLETES from Eritrea

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Eritrean Athletes of all time. This list of famous Eritrean Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Zersenay Tadese (1982 - )

With an HPI of 36.25, Zersenay Tadese is the most famous Eritrean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages on wikipedia.

Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is a retired Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting. Zersenay ("Tadese" is his father's name) has found most of his success in the half marathon, with four consecutive victories in the World Half Marathon Championships from 2006 to 2009 (with a 2006 20 km edition), a silver medal in 2010 and a fifth title in 2012. His 5 titles are a record. He set a world record at the Lisbon Half Marathon in 2010. He has also excelled in cross country running, winning a gold, a silver, and two bronze medals in the long-distance race over five IAAF World Cross Country Championships. He is a four-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016). In 2009, Zersenay became only the second man (after Paul Tergat) to win three World Championship medals over three different surfaces in the same year, winning World Cross Country bronze, 10,000 metres World Championship silver on the track, and gold in road running at the World Half Marathon Championships. He is a popular public figure in his home country; 2500 guests attended his wedding to Merhawit Solomon, which was broadcast live on Eritrean television. His brother, Kidane Tadese, is also a professional distance runner. In 2016, he was chosen to be part of Nike's Breaking2 team to try to break 2 hours for the marathon and finished in 2:06:51.

2. Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (1995 - )

With an HPI of 27.30, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie is the 2nd most famous Eritrean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (Ge'ez: ግርማይ ገብረስላሰ, born 14 November 1995) is an Eritrean long distance runner. He won the 2015 World Championships in Athletics marathon in Beijing, China, becoming the youngest winner of the race at age 19 and became the first Eritrean to win a gold medal at the World Championships. On 6 November 2016, Ghirmay was the top men's finisher at the New York City Marathon, becoming the youngest male to ever win the race.

3. Meb Keflezighi (1975 - )

With an HPI of 22.49, Meb Keflezighi is the 3rd most famous Eritrean Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Mebrahtom "Meb" Keflezighi (; Ge'ez: መብራህቶም ክፍልእዝጊ, Mebrāhtōm Kifl'izgī; born May 5, 1975) is a retired American long distance runner. He is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon and finished in fourth place in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won the 2009 New York City Marathon on November 1, 2009, and the 2014 Boston Marathon on April 21, 2014, becoming the first American man to win each race since 1982 and 1983, respectively. Keflezighi is a graduate of UCLA, where he won four NCAA championships competing for the UCLA Bruins track and field team. He came in fourth in the 2014 New York City Marathon on November 2, 2014, eighth in the 2015 Boston Marathon on April 20, 2015, and second in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.