On July 18th, 2020, Dejen Tesfalem Weldu from Eritrea who belongs to SEISA University made an appearance in the Hokuren Distance Challenge 2020 Chitose Championships Round 4, held in Chitose Aoba Athletic stadium in Hokkaido.
Among the best athletes of the country, Dejen competed in the men's 5000m A group. Often struggled to catch up with the first runner group, he finished 13th with the time: 13:46:28. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to set a new personal best time. However, with all the supports from staff and team mates, he could put all his energy which he saved while the training was restricted due to the novel coronavirus into the race.
Dejen is going to join up with Penjor from Bhutan, his teammate, in Hokkaido and start the joint training camp with SEISA Dohto University Track and Field Club.
Click here for the video on the race!
(The men’s 5000m A group starts at 4:00:07)
Click here for the result! (Japanese)
Source of information: Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF)
