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There's an Olympic Bronze Medalist from Ethiopia coming to Salt Lake City in September. Meseret Defar is only 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 93 pounds, but she's a world-class heavyweight when it comes to children's causes.
Defar is among the top distance runners in the world, and while she had to settle for Bronze in Beijing, her heart is pure gold.
She won the Olympic 5000m gold medal in Athens and gold in the world championships, but Ethiopia's Meseret Defar couldn't overcome getting kicked in the Beijing 5000m Olympic finals Friday night. She won the bronze medal, not what she came here for, and her time more than a minute and a half off her personal best. She said, "I'm not happy today because three or two laps left, my leg, someone hurt me. And my leg is injured from like this to me."
But the 24-year-old, nicknamed "Mezzy," runs in much more profound circles. Her labor of love: children's causes worldwide. And Mezzy's planning on coming to Salt Lake City to help raise awareness and funds for the Mesgana Dancers. They represent close to 700 Ethiopian girls, between the ages of 7 and 12, whose education is sponsored by the Utah-based "Children of Ethiopian Education Fund."
She says, "Yes, I will be coming to Salt Lake City in September. I will be very happy that I will there."
She says she raises funds for children because they are in her heart and she loves children.
To learn more about the Children of Ethiopia Education Fund and the Mesgana Dancers' performance next month in Salt Lake City, Click here
