| Intro | Eritrean distance runner |
| Is |
Athlete Runner Long-distance runner |
| From | Eritrea |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | female |
Meraf Bahta Ogbagaber (born 24 August 1989) is an Eritrean-born Swedish middle-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 metres and 3000 metres.
Biography
She was born in Dekishahay. As a junior she competed in the junior races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, finishing twelfth in 2006 and sixth in 2007. Together with her team mates she won the silver medal in the team event at the 2007 championships. She finished fifth in the 1500 metres at the 2006 World Junior Championships. At the 2007 All-Africa Games she finished seventh in the 5000 metres. She competed in her first senior cross-country race at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships, but only finished 43rd.
Her personal best times are 4:05.11 minutes in the 1500 metres, achieved in July 2013 in Heusden-Zolder; and 14:59.49 minutes in the 5000 metres, achieved in July 2014 in Palo Alto USA. The 5000 personal best also marked a Swedish record (former was from 1995 held by Sara Wedlund). With the sub-15 race Meraf made her big international breakthrough and immediately became one of the best long distance runners on European soil and a medal contender for future European Championships.
She moved to Sweden in 2008, fleeing from the situation in Eritrea. In Sweden she has continued her running career, getting support from Ulf Friberg, the trainer of Mustafa Mohamed. Bahta got her permanent residency permit in 2012 and has applied for Swedish citizenship. In December she got her citizenship and since 2014 she is eligible to compete for Sweden in international championships. She represented Sweden at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In 2014 she also won Tjejmilen.
Achievements
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Eritrea | |||||
| 2005 | World Cross Country Championships | Saint-Galmier, France | 32nd | Junior race | 22:43 |
| 2006 | World Junior Championships | Beijing, China | 5th | 1500 m | 4:16.01 |
| World Cross Country Championships | Fukuoka, Japan | 12th | Junior race | 20:22 | |
| 2007 | World Cross Country Championships | Mombasa, Kenya | 6th | Junior race | 21:24 |
| All-Africa Games | Algiers, Algeria | 9th | 1500 m | 4:15.12 | |
| 7th | 5000 m | 15:56.30 | |||
| 2008 | World Cross Country Championships | Edinburgh, Great Britain | 43rd | Senior race | 27:31 |
| Representing Sweden | |||||
| 2014 | European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 1st | 5000 m | 15:31.39 |
| European Cross Country Championships | Samokov, Bulgaria | 3rd | Senior race | 28:52 | |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6th | 1500 m | 4:12.59 |