Elvan Abeylegesse

Elvan Abeylegesse
Elvan Abeylegesse
Personal information
NationalityEthiopian / Turkish
Born (1982-09-11) 11 September 1982
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Height1.59 m (5.2 ft)
Weight40 kg (88 lb)
Sport
SportRunning
Event(s)
5000 metres, 10,000 metres
ClubEnkaspor Athletics Team
Coached byCarol Santa
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)5000m: 14:24.68
10000m: 29:56.34
Medal record
Representing  Turkey
Women's athletics
Olympic Games
Disqualified 2008 Beijing 5000 m
Disqualified 2008 Beijing 10,000 m
World Championships
Disqualified 2007 Osaka 10,000 m
European Championships
2010 Barcelona 10,000 m
2010 Barcelona 5000 m
2006 Gothenburg 5000 m
Mediterranean Games
Disqualified 2009 Pescara 10,000 m
2013 Mersin 10,000 m

Elvan Abeylegesse (née Hewan Abeye (አልቫን አበይለገሠ, Amharic), also formerly Elvan Can (Turkish); born 11 September 1982) is an Ethiopian former middle and long-distance running athlete who represented Turkey. She competed over distances from 1500 metres up to the marathon, and also in cross country. She is a former world record-holder for the 5000 metres, at 14:24.68.

In August 2015, the Turkish Athletics Federation confirmed Abeylegesse had failed that an anti-doping test taken during the 2007 World Championships. She was stripped of her results from 2007 to 2009, including two Olympic medals and one World Championship medal, and banned from athletics for two years.