Ethiopian middle-distance runner
Lemlem Hailu (Amharic: ለምለም ኃይሉ; born 21 May 2001)[1] is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 3000 metres at the 2022 World Indoor Championships.[2] Hailu earned bronze in the 1500 metres at the 2019 African Games.
At age 16, she was the 1500 m 2017 World Youth champion to take a bronze in the event at the Youth Olympic Games a year later. She represented Ethiopia in the women's 1500 m at the 2019 World Championships and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Hailu holds the world junior indoor record in the event.
Career
At age 16, Lemlem Hailu gained first international experience at the 2017 World Youth Championships in Nairobi, where she won the 1500 metres event. A year later, she took gold over the distance at the African Youth Games held in Algiers and went to Argentina for Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where she earned bronze in a combined 1500m event.[1]
In 2019, she captured the bronze medal for the 1500m at the African Games.[1] Hailu represented Ethiopia in the event at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, reaching the semi-finals.[3]
In February 2020, she set a world under-20 record for the indoor 1500 metres with a time of 4:01.79, breaking by 0.02 s previous mark set by her compatriot Gudaf Tsegay in 2016. The same month, Hailu improved her record to 4m 1.57s, which was her fourth personal best achieved within three weeks.[4] In October, she won the 1500m race at the Kip Keino Classic.[1]
In 2021, Hailu secured an overall 3000m World Indoor Tour victory, winning two top-level meets. She won the event at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Liévin, and the Copernicus Cup in Toruń.[1] At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Hailu was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500m event.[5]
The next year, Hailu became the 3000m World indoor champion in Belgrade with a season's best of 8:41.82. Elle Purrier St. Pierre won silver in 8:42.04 while Hailu's compatriot Ejgayehu Taye was third in 8:42.23.[6]
