Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase[nb][4] (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is a retired Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete.

He is a popular public figure in his home country; 2500 guests attended his wedding to Merhawit Solomon, which was broadcast live on Eritrean television.

[7] Zersenay Tadese was born in Adi Bana, and had a peaceful, rural upbringing with his six siblings, largely avoiding the troubles of the Eritrean War of Independence.

However, the races of 30–50 km fell short of the distances needed to compete on the European circuit and he was ill-prepared for a transition to top-level cycling.

[10] He competed on the track at the African Athletics Championships, taking sixth place in the 10,000 metres race in Radès, Tunisia, rounding off a modest debut year.

He signed a contract with Adidas Spain and brought the team victory at the European Clubs' Cross Country Cup in February.

"[24] The Eritrean-born runner Meb Keflezighi, representing the United States, won silver in the marathon a few days later, highlighting the country's improving standards.

[1] Zersenay finished his first Olympics by reaching another event final: he took seventh place in the men's 5000 metres race, confirming his position as a world-class runner.

[28] He ended the season on a positive note, however, improving his 10,000 m best to 27:04.70 at the Memorial Van Damme,[29] and winning the Great North Run with a world best time of 59:05 – which was only his second outing over the half marathon distance.

[43] The following month he competed at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, and he edged closer to a podium finish – he led the 10,000 m race up to the 8 km mark, setting a fast pace, but ultimately ended up in fourth position.

[44] Preparing for the road championships that year, he ran the 10-mile Dam tot Damloop race in September and won in 45:51 (the world's fastest that season), finishing some distance ahead of runners up Bernard Kipyego and James Rotich.

Although he was close to world record pace at the 15 km point, he slowed behind the leading pack of Makau Musyoki, Evans Kiprop Cheruiyot and Deriba Merga.

[48] The following month, Zersenay beat Eliud Kipchoge to win the Cinque Mulini race in the buildup to the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

Although Zersenay's time almost equalled the previous Olympic record for the event, he ended up one second behind Kenyans Moses Masai and Micah Kogo, taking fifth place overall.

[52] After the Olympics, Zersenay returned to Eritrea and trained for one month to prepare for the 2008 World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro.

[53] He won his third consecutive title over the half marathon distance with ease, taking the lead early on and beating the second-placed Patrick Makau Musyoki by almost two minutes.

[55] Zersenay took third place at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in a closely contested race, finishing just behind a resurgent Gebregziabher Gebremariam and Ugandan runner Moses Kipsiro.

Following this, he won his third World Half Marathon title, setting a Championship record of 59:35 and also winning a silver medal with Eritrea in the team competition.

Samuel Wanjiru's half marathon world record was next to fall as Zersenay crossed the line at 58:23 minutes, a clear ten seconds ahead of the previous mark.

[66] He was at full strength at the 2011 Lisbon Half Marathon: he missed his world record mark but ran the second fastest of all-time (58:30 minutes).

[72] A run at the 2012 London Marathon saw him perform better than he did in 2010, but he lost touch with the leading pack after the halfway point and came fourteenth with a time of 2:10:41 hours.

[75] Only two weeks later he entered the Great Birmingham Run, but he appeared tired and finished third in a race where the top three all dipped under Haile Gebrselassie's course record.

[76] Zersenay managed only seventh at the World's Best 10K in February but returned to the top of the podium in his speciality at the Prague Half Marathon, edging out his training partner Amanuel Mesel with a time of 60:10.

[77] He clocked another win over the distance at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon, beating the defending champion Martin Mathathi and setting a course record of 60:31 minutes.

He is a popular public figure in his home country; 2500 guests attended his wedding to Merhawit Solomon, which was broadcast live on Eritrean television.