Alemu Bekele

Alemu Bekele Gebre (born 23 March 1990) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain.

Alemu Bekele Gebre was born and raised in Lemu, a small rural farming community near Bekoji in Ethiopia's Arsi Zone.

He moved to stay with his grandparents when he started school but he became distracted from his studies as his interest in running grew.

The coach at the school, Sentayehu Eshetu, had taught world champions Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba previously and Alemu again threw himself into running practice.

The Bahraini authorities agreed and in his first competition for them, the 2009 Asian Cross Country Championships he won the junior section.

The 2011 season was mixed: he managed only 68th at the World Cross Country Championships and was seventh in the 1500m at the Military World Games, but he won the bronze medal at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships before setting a 1500m best of 3:40.83 minutes for sixth at the Pan Arab Games.