OUR STORY

Athlete Aselefech Mergia was born in the small town of Welisse, in the year of 1985 E.C. She was an energetic and active young child who started doing running sports just at 16 years old. In 2001 E.C she represented her region by running for 500 and 800m tracks whereby she joined the Federal Sports Club. During her tenure, she quickly expanded her track starting from 1500m to 5000m and then for 10,000m earning her club and her country with more than 60 medals both in local and global athletic competitions. She continued to represent her beloved country by participating in major global events and earning medals such as the 2008 Rio women’s half marathon earning silver and the 2009 Berlin global marathon earning bronze medal. She also has achieved success in running for major global gold label events including winning 1st place three times at the Dubai marathon, 1st place and 3rd place at the London marathon, 2nd place at the New York and Paris marathon, 1st place (twice) and 3rd place at New Delhi, 1st and 2nd place at the 10km Bangalore championships earning many medals for her country including in Europe and the United States.

She met her husband and life partner Athlete Kidane Gemechu during her stay at the Federal Sport Club in 2008. Their love for each other and the common dream of pursuing athletics has made them stronger staying married for over 12 years. They have had the opportunity to both win marathons in the same competition such as both earning 1st place in England and another 1st in 1500m for her and 5000m for him in Manchester respectively. They also stepped up their level and had the chance to both win 1st place at 5000m for her and him at 10,000m respectively making them an unyielding power couple in the Ethiopian athletics platform. Her husband Kidane has also contributed numerous medals for his Federal Sports Club as well as earning more in the global platform including earning bronze at the Naden Italy half marathon championships as well as in other global events earning 1st place (5 times), 2nd place and 3rd place (twice) respectively. In addition to their career they are have now opened the Aselefech Mergia 3 Star Hotel in the capital Addis Ababa in hopes of boosting the tourism industry and contributing their part to the country they love.