Marathoner Who Fled Ethiopia Is Found Dead in Paris

Police said Zenash Gezmu was killed in her apartment by a man who has turned himself in.

By Erin Strout Friday December 1, 2017, 11:59 am

Zenash Gezmu wins Marathon de Senart

Zenash Gezmu, an Ethiopian runner who lived in France, wins the 2016 Marathon de Senart. Photograph courtesy of Marathon de Senart/cc – grand paris sud

Zenash Gezmu was a 27-year-old runner from Ethiopia who moved to France six years ago with the hope of one day representing the European country in competition. On Tuesday, she was found dead in her apartment on the outskirts of Paris, according to multiple news reports.A 28-year-old Eritrean man has been taken into custody by French authorities, according to the Le Parisien website. It’s unclear what Gezmu’s relationship was with the man, who, according to the news report, told police that he smothered her with a cushion and hit her with trophies she had won in various competitions.
Gezmu was a member of the Neuilly sur Marne athletics club, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a written statement. The petite distance runner, who stood at 4 feet, 9 inches tall, was a three-time winner of the Marathon de Senart with a personal best time of 2:32:48 at the 26.2-mile distance, which she set by placing sixth at the 2016 Amsterdam Marathon.Her former coach, Nicolas Valat, described Gezmu as part of the running group’s family, a “discreet woman with a strong character.”“Here we would support her when she needed because there was always a little language barrier,” Valat told Ouest France. “She was the big sister of some, the little sister of others. She was always with us.”Gezmu typically fit her training in around a housekeeping job she kept at a nearby hotel, according to Le Parisien, often rising at 5 a.m. to run and working later, earning less than approximately $270 per week. She was a refugee who relied heavily on her athletic performances at races to supplement her income and hoped to have enough to send some money home to her mother, Le Parisien reports.

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Stade Français Athlétisme

on Tuesday

Aujourd’hui est un triste jour pour le monde de l’athlétisme. Zenash Gezmu nous a quitté. Le Stade Français s’associe à la douleur et la peine de tous ses proches. Repose en Paix championne.

Image may contain: 1 person, sitting and text
Image may contain: 1 person

“There are not many like her, who get up at 5 a.m. to train, morning and evening, after cleaning a hotel,” Valat told the newspaper. “What mattered to her was to perform.”
News reports indicate that Gezmu, who had arrived in France in 2011, had attempted to gain French citizenship, but her language skills were not high enough to pass the test.

“There are not many like her, who get up at 5 a.m. to train, morning and evening, after cleaning a hotel,” Valat told the newspaper. “What mattered to her was to perform.”
News reports indicate that Gezmu, who had arrived in France in 2011, had attempted to gain French citizenship, but her language skills were not high enough to pass the test.

In addition to her marathon running, the IAAF said Gezmu also won numerous 10K, half marathon, and cross-country races in France in recent years.

SOURCE      –    RUNNERS” WORLD