Tekeste Kebede

TEKESTE KEBEDE
ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE:
14 August 1981

PERSONAL BEST:
2:07:23 (Boston, 2010)

WORLD MARATHON MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:

19Apr10 Boston Marathon 2nd 2:07:23
20Apr09 Boston Marathon 4th 2:09:49

ADDITIONAL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

06Dec09 Fukuoka Marathon 2nd 2:07:52
18Jan09 Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon 2nd 2:10:36
11Oct08 Under Armour Baltimore Marathon 2nd 2:13:00
01Jun08 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon 5th 2:12:10
20Apr08 Nagano International Marathon 7th 2:15:21
10Dec06 Honolulu Marathon 8th 2:26:16
04Jun06 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon 5th 2:13:15
04Dec05 New Las Vegas Marathon 3rd 2:14:38
05Jun05 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon 5th 2:13:16
26Mar05 Xiamen Marathon 3rd 2:12:03
04Dec04 Moha Addis Ababa City Marathon 3rd 2:24:02
06Jun04 Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon 3rd 2:11:48
11Jan04 Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon 10th 2:20:16

CAREER NOTES:

Tekeste Kebede waited a long time to cross the finish in a World Marathon Major, but it paid off as his debut at Boston 2009 saw him finish in fourth place with his first lifetime sub-2:10 time.

He managed to knock almost a full two minutes off that time in December with a second place finish at Fukuoka in 2:07:52. Four months later he sliced another 29 seconds from his PR at Boston in a runner-up finish.

Kebede came into 2009 off two staight second-place marathon finishes. He has also finished third in four different marathons since he began competing in 2004 and has 10 career top ten finishes. Before concentrating on the marathon, Kebede ran road races on the U.S. circuit. He began running in high school and excelled at the 5000m and 10000m.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Training at altitude in Addis Ababa, Kebede lists 1989 Boston Marathon Champion Abebe Mekonnen as a mentor who helped him in his early training and enlisted him in the Police Force Club Kebede has three brothers and one sister and his parents are civil servants. His hobbies are watching films and listening to music.