Futsum Zienasellassie was born in Eritrea, and was at a refugee camp in Ethiopia before moving to the United States at the age of 14.[2][3] Zienasellassie's father is a priest in the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. He has three brothers and four sisters. Zienasellassie was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in January 2016.
Running career
High school
While attending North Central High School, Futsum Zienasellassie qualified for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships three times, finishing 7th, 2nd, and 2nd. Zienasellassie also claimed the 2011 Nike Cross Nationals individual title in 15:02, outdistancing runner-up Daniel Vertiz by 24 seconds. He also won 7 IHSAA State titles in Cross Country and Track. As a senior, Zienasellassie claimed the Indiana cross country state record for 5000 Meters in 14:36 at the Flashrock Invitational on September 17, 2011 along with the Indiana State record at 3200 meters on the track in 8:47.75. During this time he was coached by both Byron Simpson And Rick Stover as the head coach.
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Collegiate
Zienasellassie began attending Northern Arizona University in the fall of 2012. During his freshman cross country season he finished 31st at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a time of 29:54.10. In 2013 Zienasellasie returned to the NCAA Cross Country Championships to finish 4th as a sophomore in 30:05.7 followed by a 3rd place showing as a junior in 30:25.3, and rounding out his cross country eligibility with a 4th place showing as a senior in 29:49.8. In 2015, Futsum Zienasellassie set two Eritrean indoor track records in the 5000 m and 800 meters. Futsum Zienasellassie is a 8-time NCAA Division IAll-American, and 7-time Big Sky Conference champion.[5]
Futsum Zienasellassie was sponsored by COROS and trained with McKirdy Trained in Flagstaff, Arizona from 2017-2022.[7]
At the 2017 USATF championship Medtronic TC 10 Mile, Zienasellassie was 10th USATF 10 Mile Championships/Medtronic TC 10 Mile and runner-up at the
Monterey Bay Half Marathon.[8]
At the 2018 USATF championship Medtronic TC 10 Mile, Zienasellassie placed 8th in 47:28.[9]
On October 6, 2019, Zienasellasie won the Medtronic TC 10 Mile and became the USATF 10 Mile National Champion in a time of 46:55.
On 19 January 2020, Zienasellassie ran 1:01:44 and placed 14th at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in Houston, Texas.
On 7 March 2020, Zienasellassie ran 45:38 and placed 11th at the USATF 15 km Road Running Championships in Jacksonville, Florida.
On 7 May 2022, Zienasellassie ran 1:02:36 and placed 2nd at the USATF Half-Marathon Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.
On 4 December 2022, Zienasellasie won the 2022 USATF Marathon Championships at California International Marathon in 2:11:01.[10]
On 16 April 2023, Zienasellassie ran 2:09:40 in the Rotterdam marathon finishing 11th overall and becoming the 25th American to break 2:10 in the Marathon.[11]
United States
