Elvan Abeylegesse (also formerly: Hewan Abeye (Amharic) and Elvan Can (Turkish)) is an Ethiopian-born Turkish woman middle and long distance track and field athlete, running in the disciplines 1500m, 3000m and 5000m, but also 10000m , 2 miles and cross country, ranking world 7th. She is holding the world record at 5000m.

She was born as Hewan Abeye on September 11, 1982 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and raised with her seven brothers and sisters. She began her career in running cross country. In 1999, Hewan started for the Ethiopian junior team at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland and finished 9th. There, she was invited for a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Came in Istanbul, she liked it there very much. "I didn't get enough support from my federation in Ethiopia," she said. "My track club in Turkey gave me all the support I needed. So I decided to move to Turkey. The support was much better in Istanbul. I thought it would be easier to reach my goals in Turkey.” To get Turkish citizenship, she married and became Elvan Can. Meanwhile, she is divorced again and called as Elvan Abeylegesse.

“As a youngster, my heroes were Ethiopian runners. I was following the victories of Gete Wami particularly”, Elvan told. “I studied all their actions: how they slept, how they ate, how they trained, and how they competed.” Registered in the Enka Sports Club in Istanbul, she is coached by Ertan Hatipoglu, a Turkish-origin former triple jumper from Bulgaria. She has still a friendly relationship with the other Ethiopian runners, but there is a problem with her former federation. “The officials don’t allow me to train in Ethiopia any longer”, Elvan Abeylegesse says. “I train now at high altitudes in Turkey as I think that some of my former compatriots see me as a threat. They are uncomfortable with me training in Ethiopia. But I, of course, remain friends with the individual Ethiopian runners.” Luxuries seem to be part of her, but she is still emotionally attached to her home country. She is definitely not a hero in Ethiopian athletics. Her 'defection' has remained an anomaly in the eyes of many Ethiopian athletic fans.

Personal best time:

World records:

Achiements

1999

• March 27 27th IAAF World Cross Country Championships , Belfast, Northern ıreland (6170m Jr) 9th (22:03)
• July 17 IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics , Bydgoszcz, Poland (3000m) 5th (9:08:29)
• August 6 15. IAAF European Junior Championships , Riga, Latvia (5000m) 2nd (16:06:40)

2000

• March 19 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Vilamoura , Portugal (3150m) 90th (14:30)
• May 21 Izmir, Turkey (3000m) 1st (9:08:07)
• October 17 IAAF World Junior Championships , Santiago de Chile, Chile (5000m) 6th (16:33:77)
• October 22 IAAF World Junior Championships, Santiago de Chile, Chile (3000m) 6th (9:28:0)

2001

• March 24 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Oostende, The Netherlands (6170m Jr) 22nd (23:30)
• May 20 Clubs National Junior Athletics Champ 2nd Leg, Istanbul, Turkey (3000m) 1st (9:03:20)
• June 8 Istanbul, Turkey (3000m) 1st (8:41:49)
• July 27 European Youth Championships, Grosseto, Italy (3000m) 1st (8:53:42)
• July 28 Clubs National Athletics Championships, Istanbul, Turkey (1500m) 1st (4:11:31)
• July 20 European Junior Championships in Athletics , Grosseto, Italy (5000m Jr) 1st (15:21:12)
• August 9 8th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Edmonton, Canada (heats) (5000m) 8th (15:22:89)
• September 12 Mediterranean Games, Tunis, Tunisia (10000m) 3rd (32:29:20) PB
• December 9 8th European Cross Country Championships , Thun, Switzerland (3150m Jr) 1st (10:35)

2002

• May 11 Izmir, Turkey (1500m) 1st (4:11:00)
• August 11 18th European Championships in Athletics , Munich, Germany (5000m) 7th (15:24:41)
• August 30 Memorial van Damme, Brussels, Belgium (Golden League) (3000m) 6th (8:31:94) PB
• September 14 18th IAAF Grand Prix Final , Paris, France (3000m) 8th (9:01:50)
• December 8 9th European Cross Country Championships , Medulin , Croatia (6170m) 3rd (20:19)

2003

• May 11 Izmir, Turkey (3000m) 1st (8:42:29)
• May 25 Beograd, Serbia (1500m) 1st (4:07:25)
• June 2 Grand Prix, Hengelo, The Netherlands (5000m) 1st (15:06:75)
• June 7 Istanbul, Turkey (2000m) 1st (5::33:83) PB
• August 30 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics,Paris Saint-Denis, France (5000m) 5th (14:53:56)
• September 13 1st IAAF World Athletics Final, Monaco (5000m) 1st (14:56:25)

2004

• May 14 Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, Doha, Qatar (3000m) 1st (8:35:83)
• May 30 European Champion Clubs Cup for Group A, Moscow, Russia (1500m) 1st (3:58:28) PB
• June 11 Bergen Bislett Games (Golden League), Bergen, Norway (5000m) 1st (14:24:68) WR PB
• June 19 European Cup 1st League, Istanbul, Turkey (3000m) 1st (8:49:14)
• August 23 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece (5000m) 12th (15:12:64)
• August 28 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece (1500m) 8th (4:00:67)
• September 18 IAAF World Athletics Final, Monaco (5000m) 1st (14:59:19)

WR World record, NR National record, PB Personal best

Performance progression

Career highlights

Elvan’s career in the international arena began at the age of 18 in Grosseto, Italy in 2001 by winning the European 3000m and 5000m titles, setting a national record for Turkey, a country not well known in long distance running. Since then she was improving her time in all distances that she runs, not particularly looking back and progressing. She became a world leader with 8:31:94 at 3000m in Brussels, Belgium already in 2002 and with 3:58.38 at 1500m in Moscow, Russia in 2004.

At the Evergood Bergen Bislett Games in Norway on June 11, 2004, the sixth meeting of TDK Golden League, Elvan Abeylegesse took apart the women’s 5000m World record, which had belonged to the little known Chinese Jiang Bo since 1997 (14:28.09), improving the mark by over three seconds to 14:24.68. With the strain of her effort visibly apparent, the thunderous roar of the capacity crowd of 15,000 pushed her to this record while she was competing against Ethiopian running giants. She became the first Turkish athlete ever to set a world record. "I worked very hard, day and night," Abeylegesse said, speaking through an interpreter. "My target since the first day I started running has been to break world records and become Olympic champion."

By breaking the 5000m World record, Elvan Abeylegesse has achieved also a historic performance in running, because she is now faster than a running legend. It was almost exactly 80 years ago when famous Paavo Nurmi had run 14:28,2 for a world record. Elvan Abeylegesse now is the first woman to have run faster than the Fin.

She has been a scholarship holder with the Olympic Solidarity program since August 2002.

Acknowledgement

Şarık Tara, the honorary president of her club, said, "I am proud of our daughter Elvan. Her achievement is an even greater success than our men's national soccer team finishing third in the World Cup." This statement may well be the clearest expression of the new and modern concept of Turkishness . Her surname is still Abeylegesse. She is not fluent in Turkish and not a Muslim, but her name is inscribed in history as 'the first Turkish athlete to hold a world record.' When she wrapped the Turkish flag around herself with enthusiasm at the finishing line in Bergen, she was reflecting the true pride she felt for her achievement in the name of Turkey. Turkishness could well be just one of Elvan's identities, but there is not the slightest doubt about it.

The day she broke the world record rewarded her with a new life of luxuries. After becoming the first Turkish track and field athlete in history to set a world record, the multi-millionaire president of her running club, honored her achievement by offering her the use of his private jet. She no more has to rush to the airport to take the 6:30 flight back home. She gives her private press conference at the hotel she is staying, then goes out for a little site visit, and packs her bags, including a 50,000 euros bonus for her effort, to take a private jet flight back home.