Zersenay Tadese

Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase[nb] (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean former long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting.

Zersenay ("Tadese" is his father's name) has found most of his success in the half marathon, with four consecutive victories in the World Half Marathon Championships from 2006 to 2009 (with a 2006 20 km edition), a silver medal in 2010 and a fifth title in 2012. His 5 titles are a record. He set a world record at the Lisbon Half Marathon in 2010. He has also excelled in cross country running, winning a gold, a silver, and two bronze medals in the long-distance race over five IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

He is a four-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016). In 2009, Zersenay became only the second man (after Paul Tergat) to win three World Championship medals over three different surfaces in the same year, winning World Cross Country bronze, 10,000 metres World Championship silver on the track, and gold in road running at the World Half Marathon Championships. He is a popular public figure in his home country; 2500 guests attended his wedding to Merhawit Solomon, which was broadcast live on Eritrean television. His brother, Kidane Tadese, is also a professional distance runner. In 2016, he was chosen to be part of Nike's Breaking2 team to try to break 2 hours for the marathon and finished in 2:06:51.