GELETE Burka

Gelete Burka

Gelete Burka (full name Gelete Burka Bati, sometimes misspelled Burika; Amharic: ገለቴ ቡርቃ; born January 23, 1986) is an Ethiopian middle distance runner. She was born in Kofele in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, the same district as double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie.

Burka’s first significant achievement was at the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where she won the bronze in the junior race. She made her first impact in senior athletics later that year when, following the Ethiopian federation’s refusal to allow Merima Denboba to compete, Burka took the women’s race at the Lotto Cross Cup Brussels. She returned to Belgium the following year and repeated the feat.^[1] After becoming junior world champion in cross country running at the 2005 World XC Championships, she competed at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics to finish 8th in the 1500 metres race. A month later she won the bronze medal in 3000 metres at the World Athletics Final. She closed the season with a win at the Spanish Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños.^[2]

In April 2006 she won the short race at the World Cross Country Championships, as well as a gold medal in the team competition. She established herself as a force to be reckoned with on the cross country circuit, winning the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country three times consecutively from 2006 to 2008 and taking the Cross Internacional de Itálica title in 2007.

She represented her country at the 2008 Summer Olympics, but failed to make it out of the 1500 m heats. In September 2008 she set a new one mile African record of 4:18.23. The previous record (4:20.79) was held by Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria and was set in 1991.^[3] She was a finalist at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, but finished last in tenth place. She attempted to defend her 1500 m title at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, but was beaten by a younger Ethiopia (Kalkidan Gezahegne) and took the bronze medal on this occasion. She claimed the silver medal behind reigning Olympic champion Nancy Langat at the 2010 African Championships in Athletics in the outdoor season.^[4]