By Chris Chavez
January 22, 2024
Teshome Mekonen, the 2:10 marathoner who switched allegiances from Ethiopia to America in December 2022, has signed a professional contract with On ahead of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb. 3.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Mekonen competed for Ethiopia at the 2016 World Half Marathon Championships and boasts a personal best of 1:00:02 from the 2018 Valencia Half Marathon. He has mostly raced in America since 2020.
– He made his marathon debut at the 2021 New York City Marathon and finished 20th in 2:22:16. He improved to 2:13:27 with a fifth place finish at the 2022 Ottawa Marathon.
– He became a U.S. citizen in August 2022 and ran his first race as an American at the 2022 BAA Half, where he finished fourth in 1:02:28. He became eligible to represent the United States internationally in December 2022 when World Athletics approved his transfer of allegiance.
– Last year, he made his marathon debut as an American with a 2:11:05 for third place at the Houston Marathon. Two months later, he followed that performance up with a 44:16, sixth place showing at the USATF 15K championships and a 1:03:08, 10th place finish at the NYC Half.
– At the 2023 Berlin Marathon, Mekonen and Scott Fauble were considered the top Americans with a shot at running under the Olympic standard of 2:08:10 to try and unlock a spot for the United States to send at least one runner to the Paris Olympics. Mekonen went out in 1:02:24 for the first half. He ran the second half in 1:07:52 and still managed to squeak out a personal best of 2:10:16. He was the top American and Fauble dropped out due to stomach issues at 30K.
– He has been training in Ethiopia in the buildup to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
