[1] He won the Cinque Mulini in 2021, the second leg of the World Athletics Cross Country Permit series completing a double for Ethiopia with Tsehay Gemechu winning the women's race.

It was Melak's second consecutive podium finish in the Cross Country Permit series, following his runner-up spot at the Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano the previous week.

Earlier in the year he successfully defended his senior men's title at the Jan Meda International Cross Country, which doubles as the Ethiopian Championships.

[2] Two weeks prior, he had beaten two-time world champion Muktar Edris over 5000m in Addis Ababa.

[8] He finished seventh in the half marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia in October 2023.