She experienced the galley. And now, she shines in running. Mekdes Woldu, licensed in Franconville (Val d’Oise) and originally from Eritrea, had an exceptional year 2021. French champion of 10 kilometers, 10,000 meters on track and half-marathon, the young athlete was the guest of the last RMC Running podcast. The opportunity for her to come back to her totally atypical career as well as her future objective: to go from middle distance… to marathon!
Mekdes Woldu is happy. His smile and his joie de vivre contrast with a complicated youth. Guest of the RMC Running podcast around Benoît Boutron and Yohan Durand, the young athlete does not hide her current pleasure. « Yes, I’m happy because I went through sometimes very difficult paths ». The term is adequate to say the least. Born in 1992 in Eritrea, East Africa, she started out playing football before discovering running at the age of 12. The click is surprising. « At first I didn’t like running, I just wanted to play football. But well, one day the athletics coach at my school asked me to run 800 meters. I didn’t even know what to do. me, it was easy even if I had plastic sandals. »
The following? A disproportionate lead over his comrades in just two laps of the track. « It’s true that I trained between 5:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. at first. Then I went to school from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It was a bit complicated to manage the race and the school. With my teacher father, it was even harder », recalls the one who has just broken the French 5km record during a race organized by her sponsor in Malaga at the end of April. In Eritrea, she won the national cross-country title three times with the national team. A country that is not necessarily known for its running culture. Located in the north of Ethiopia and Kenya, the country « is best known for cyclists », says Mekdes. « But after Zersenay Tadesse’s bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in the 10,000 meters, running has developed. We come from the same school and the same city. Everything accelerated thanks to this medal » . To the delight of Mekdes Woldu.
An obstacle course
French champion in the 10 kilometer, 10,000 meter track and half-marathon, Mekdes Woldu also achieved this hat-trick… in her country of origin in 2011! « It’s true that history repeated itself, it was quite funny to do it again ten years later in France! » When she arrived in 2010, she landed in Compiègne, in the Oise, where she managed to get lost in the forest with five other athletes. Yet « Mecky » is not lost. His life compass tells him to stay in Europe. The decision was taken in 2012. « There is of course a political story behind all this. I went to visit my brother in Switzerland, but then I came back to France because it is the law in Europe. I asked for asylum in France, then I became a political refugee ». Tossed from home to home, « a very difficult experience », she arrived at the Franconville club in 2013, at only 19 years old. Mekdes must chain races and competitions to be financially independent. « I was training, I was learning French, but besides that, I was doing a lot of competitions to be able to buy food and to be able to live. »
« I cried like a baby »
In every story, an encounter always makes the difference. For Mekdes, it’s Gérard Rousseau, the president of his sports section. « He accompanied me everywhere, all the time. He never left me. Sometimes he would get up at 5 a.m. for me and he would come and do the lines with me. I call him Dad. » The strength of character of the one who likes to listen to Eminem during his VMA sessions goes even further in the naturalization process. On an internship in Kenya, she takes advantage of a massage to clear her mind. Until receiving a letter from his club president. « I didn’t know what it was. I re-read it several times and I still didn’t believe it. I had just received the paper informing me that I was now a French citizen. I was crying like a baby And the people next to me thought I was crying because the masseur was hurting me,” Mekdes explains with a big laugh. « Today, my parents are very proud of me. My father always had confidence in me. He knew that I could perform. He just wanted me to be patient. On the other hand, my mother kept asking me when I was going to stop running. But today, she is happy, she told me that I had been right to continue ». Perseverance she will need with a new goal in sight.
The marathon with a view to Paris 2024
« The first time I meet her, I tell myself that there is a nugget there. In the intermediate sector, she has qualities that are still rarely seen. Between 18km/h and 19km/h, she has a real strength, by his training, but also by his training », analyzes Thierry Choffin, his trainer. The French cross-country skier performs over short distances. But his manager sees further. « We’re not going to lie to each other. Her reference distance is the half-marathon. But to prepare for Paris 2024 on a marathon, you have to make her run faster over 5,000m and 10,000m to fully understand the transition to the marathon ». « Mekdes has real qualities for the long distance. She has the physique, the endurance and the smart foot to perform, » adds Yohan Durand. Mekdes should take his first marathon steps in December 2022 or February 2023, either in Valencia or Seville. With why not, an Olympic medal « at home » in 2024? « I dream of it, like every athlete! » Just to make up for lost time and make her family even more proud, having not seen her in over ten years.
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