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Who is Meb? |
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Monday, 09 November 2009 |
Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflezighi was born on May 5, 1975 in Asmara, Eritrea. His father, Russom Keflezighi, had supported Eritrean rebels in their attempt to win independence from Ethiopia. On July 1, 1981, fearing for her husband’s safety, Meb’s mother, Awetash, convinced Russom to leave Eritrea. If he left, she reasoned, he could send money home and at least there would be a chance for a future together.
Russom walked 150 miles across Eritrea to the border of Sudan before working his way to Milan. It wasn’t until Meb was 10 years old that his father had saved enough to send for his family to join him in Italy.
In 1987, the family immigrated to San Diego, Calif. Russom did janitorial work, cleaning as many as eight banks a night, and drove a taxi cab so his children could concentrate on their education instead of work.
The philosophy Russom instilled in his children was that money might come and go, but education could not be taken away.
In junior high, Meb took part in a gym class contest where anyone who could run a mile in under 6:15 would get a T-shirt. Meb ran it in 5:20.
In high school, Meb was an A student and finished second in the National Schoolboy Cross-Country Championships, which brought him to the attention of UCLA running coach Bob Larson. While UCLA typically sought out sprinters and throwers, it offered a scholarship to Meb as a distance runner.
At UCLA, he won four scholarships and his accomplishments earned him the title as “The Greatest Distance Runner in UCLA History.”
In 1997, afraid that his native Eritrea would not participate in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, he applied for U.S. citizenship, which he was granted in 1998. In 1999, Meb graduated from UCLA with a degree in business communications.
Today, Meb is considered “the top U.S. distance runner” (USA Track & Field).
Meb is married to Yordanos Asgedom. They have two daughters, Sara, who is 3 years old and Fiyori, who is 1 year old. Meb and Yordanos are expecting their third daughter in January, 2010.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
(source: www.usatf.org)
2009 ING NYC Marathon 1st place
2005 ING NYC Marathon 3rd place
2004 Olympic Marathon Silver Medallist
2004 ING NYC Marathon Runner-Up
2000, 2004 Olympic Trials 10,000m champion
2004 Marathon Olympic Trials runner-up
12th in 10,000m at 2000 Olympics
3-time U.S. 10,000m champ (2000, ’02, ’04)
2-time USA 12km XC champ (’01, ’02 )
3-time U.S. 15 km champ (’01, ’02, ’04)
4-time NCAA champion
American 10,000m record holder
Olympic Trials 10,000m record holder
U.S. Championships 10,000m record holder
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 November 2009 )
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