Ethiopia’s athletes raise money in fight against Covid-19

Several of the country’s athletics greats, including Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh Dibaba and her sisters Genzebe and Ejegayehu, and two-time Olympic 10 000m champion Derartu Tulu took part in a virtual run over the weekend to raise money to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in Ethiopia.

Proceeds from the race, organised by Grand African Run, an annual fun run usually held in the United States, and the Ethiopian Athletics Federation, will go to two Ethiopia-based non-profit organisations working to stop the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

Dibaba ran in in an empty stadium while Bekele ran inside his own home. The professionals were joined by amateurs across the world who ran on treadmills or around their gardens.

The event was streamed live, with users connecting through various online platforms in the virtual fundraiser.

Grand African Run, which is an annual fun run normally held in the USA, worked together with the Ethiopian Athletics Federation to make the event possible.

The 1992 and 2000 women’s 10 000m champion Tulu also took part – from the comfort of her own garden.

“I long for the day this pandemic is over and I run with you all,” Tulu said. “I hope that won’t be too far away.”

As of Monday, Ethiopia had 365 reported cases of Covid-19, with five deaths and 120 recoveries. The country reported its first case on March 13.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo