By Raquel Coronell Uribe
Before Weini Kelati was running 10,000 meters to a finish line, she was running long distances to school in Eritrea.
Born in Tsada Christian, a small village in the central region of Eritrea, Kelati, 27, said it wasn’t unusual for kids to walk four to five hours to get to school every day — or to run, if they were tardy.
Running would eventually take her far beyond the African country to Oregon, where her journey to become an American Olympian started 10 years ago and where that dream was cemented.
“In sixth grade I was in a PE class and sitting down and watching what everybody was doing,” Kelati said. “And my teacher comes to me and he said, ‘You need to run because that’s how you earn grade.’”
Kelati was confused — after all, she had run to school earlier that day and was sore. But her coach told Kelati to run as fast as she could, and she uncovered a hidden talent, outrunning her classmates and even older kids.
Kelati started competing, but to her, the sport was always about more than just winning a medal or getting on a podium. It was a way to help her family.
Kelati said that when her running prowess took her to the World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in 2014, she saw an opportunity to stay in the U.S. and help her family from abroad. Afraid of being stopped, she didn’t tell anyone about her intentions.
Seeking asylum
Kelati beat her personal record during that race. Her mind, however, was not on crossing the finish line, but on an Eritrean flag she saw from the stands.
Eritreans are a tight-knit community. An Oregon family who had heard about the Eritrean athletes competing in the event came to the track to cheer them on.
Kelati saw their flag and ran to them. She said she told them she wanted to stay in America and asked them for help.
“Back home it’s very safe to just go with any family and ask them like, ‘Hey, can I stay with you?’ It’s fine,” Kelati said. “Here I thought it was the same thing the first day when I landed, but it wasn’t.”
After they realized Kelati was serious about staying, the family agreed to help. They bought her a cellphone, which she used to call home and tell her mother she was seeking asylum in the U.S.
“I had to call and tell her when I made my decision,” Kelati said. “I let her know. And she cried a little bit. But that was OK.”
It would be eight years before Kelati saw her again.
Eventually Kelati enrolled in Heritage High School in Leesburg, Virginia. Even though she didn’t speak any English, she soon found a home on her track and field team.
She was recruited to the University of New Mexico, where she won the 2019 NCAA Division I cross country championships, and she eventually went pro.
Back in Eugene
In 2021, a couple of days before the trials for the delayed Tokyo Olympics, Kelati got big news: The country that she had sought refuge in was claiming her as one of its own. She was getting U.S. citizenship.
In the excitement of becoming a citizen, Kelati said, she didn’t sleep well or account for the heat awaiting her during the trials that year. She was forced to drop out almost three-quarters through the 10,000-meter race, watching her Olympic dreams for Tokyo fly away.
Kelati said she was frustrated, but in the three years since then, she has changed her mindset. She said she tried to stop focusing on results, instead learning to trust her training. When the 2024 trials rolled around, she found herself on the track in Eugene again.
“I just want to race hard and have the best results in my life,” she said. “I wanted to be one of the runners that I used to watch in TV, you know?”
Even though she will compete in red, white and blue, Eritrea remains close to Kelati’s heart. The close-knit Eritrean community that as a young girl helped her navigate a foreign country and find her way to Olympic glory has rallied around her. In the days since the trials, she said, she has heard from Eritreans all over, cheering her on.
Ten years after her journey to become a U.S. Olympian began, Kelati thinks back to when she was in middle school and saw, for the first time, Olympic runners crossing the finish line.
She’s one of them now, and she hopes she will be an example to people watching her.
“I hope this inspires them,” she said. “If you don’t give up on what you wanted to achieve in life, I know you can live your dream one day.”
