Deriba Merga
Deriba Merga ( Deriba Merga Ejigu; born October 26, 1980 in Nekemte ) is an Ethiopian long- distance runner who specializes in road races.
Career
In the road race World Championships 2006 in Debrecen, he was minutes over 20km sixth in 57:27. In the Ethiopian team that won the bronze medal, he was the fastest.
The Paris Marathon 2007 he finished eleventh in 2:13:33 h In the Road Race World Championships in 2007 in Udine on the half- marathon distance, he was fourth in 59:16 min and again won team bronze medal. The breakthrough on the marathon course succeeded shortly after the Fukuoka Marathon. He was second in 2:06:50 h and remained as the champion Samuel Kamau Wanjiru under the course record.
In 2008 he won the World's Best 10K (10 miles) in 28:03 min and was the London Marathon in 2:06:38 h in sixth. He was so behind Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia second fastest of the year and was nominated for the Olympic Games in Beijing.
When Olympic marathon he made long for a fast pace. Only at kilometer 37, he had the eventual winner Samuel Kamau Wanjiru and Gharib Jaouad let them go, but then suffered a burglary and was overtaken on the stadium round of his countryman and training partner Tsegay Kebede and relegated to fourth place. Soon after, he won the Delhi Half Marathon in 59:15 min and thus equaled the Weltjahresbestzeit of Haile Gebrselassie.
In 2009 he won first in impressive fashion the Houston Marathon in January. With his winning time of 2:07:52 h, it undercut the twenty -year-old course record by over two minutes. In February, he finished the RAK Half Marathon in 59:18 minutes in third place, after leading for a long time. With its interval of 41:29 minutes at 15 kilometers he set the world record of Felix Limo. In April, he won the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:08:42 h At 10 km race of the Ottawa Race Weekend, he broke with 27:24 minutes of the 21 -year-old course record; a week later he won over the same distance at the World 10K Bangalore.
In a marathon World Championships in Berlin, he was still at km 35 in the three -man lead group, but dropped far back and abandoned the race. In Delhi, however, he was able to defend his title with a time of 59:54 min.
In 2010 he finished third in Boston and presented at the Bogota Half Marathon a course record. In 2011 he won the RAK Half Marathon. A second place in the Lake Biwa Marathon followed a course record at the Yangzhou Jianzhen Half Marathon. and another victory over 10 km at the Ottawa Race Weekend.
In 2012 he was second in the New York City Half Marathon.
Quotes
"I always run with the aim to gain or break a world record, but I never run to the finish, if I do not finish in the top three. When I feel during a race that I can not finish in the top three, I give up. This is my philosophy. " ( " I always aim to win or break a world record but I never finish Unless I want to finish in the top 3 If I anticipate ahead of time did I will not be top 3, I quit. That is my philosophy " ) -. Deriba Merga at a press conference before the Boston Marathon 2010.