Hannah Borenstein on Ethiopian women’s long-distance running, and power dynamics in track and field

Social Sport

August 23, 2021

Hannah Borenstein is a Ph.D. Candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. Her academic research is about women runners in Ethiopia navigating a transnational athletics economy. Outside of academia, she writes primarily about the intersections of sports, race, gender, and labor politics. She speaks Amharic, can juggle, and loves to run.

Discussed in this episode:

–COVID experience in different countries

–Post-colonial feminist critique

–Power dynamics that elite Ethiopian distance-runners might face when dealing with male coaches, training partners, etc.

–Considerations involved in being a white woman from the US doing research in Ethiopia

Firehiwot Dado, Hannah’s friend and 2011 NYC Marathon champion

–Navigating dual roles as friend, teammate, and researcher

–Hannah’s Fansided Article on Pan-Africa-USA International Track Meet

–The complexity of track and field when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion

–The injustices of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics games

–Female classifications/testosterone rule in Olympic track events: 400m to 1500m

–Hannah’s World Athletics article on women runners from Ethiopia’s Tigray region

–Hannah’s article, The Long Run 

–Alison Wade’s Bookshop page on books on women’s distance running

–The White Lotus

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