Marathon runner, 36, dies suddenly after falling ill during routine training session
The long-distance runner died after a sudden medical episode.
Ethiopian marathon runner Yebrgual Melese has died aged 36 after falling ill during a training session on Tuesday, the country's athletics federation revealed. Melese, who has previously won marathons in Houston, Prague and Shanghai, was preparing for a race in Ottawa later this month.
Melese was training in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa before flying out to Canada for the May 24 race. After suffering a sudden emergency, Melese was rushed to hospital, but despite the best efforts of the medical staff, was pronounced dead on Tuesday.
Melese’s coach was one of the first to confirm the news, with the runner leaving behind a husband and two children. Ethopia’s athletics governing body said in a statement: "The Ethiopian Athletics Federation expresses its deep sorrow over the sudden passing of this heroic athlete and offers condolences to her family, friends and fans.”
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Volares Sport, her Dutch-based management team, wrote: "The running community has lost not only a great athlete, but also a beautiful human being.”
The International Ethiopian Athletes Association stated: "May God rest his soul in peace. May God comfort his family, relatives and friends."
Even though she never made it to an Olympic Games, Melese remained active deep into her professional career, and represented Ethiopia in marathon events across the world. She was considered one of the best marathon runners of her generation in Ethiopia, and was just two weeks away from returning to the course in Ottawa.
Melese hadn’t competed in a competitive race since failing to finish the Beijing Marathon last year, with her best finish in one of the World Marathon Majors coming in 2015. She placed second in the Chicago Marathon, while Melese’s best time was posted in 2018, when the Ethiopian ran the Dubai Marathon in 2:19:33.
Away from international marathons, Melese achieved national championship success in Ethiopia. Most notably, the 10,000 metre title, which Melese won back in 2013. Elsewhere, her personal-best half-marathon time was 1:07:18.
