Abel Teffra

Abel Teffra (born January 23, 2002) is an American professional middle distance runner from Fresno, California. He competes for HOKA’s professional athletics club as of the 2025 outdoor track and field season, and attended Georgetown University as a member of the men’s cross country and track & field team from 2020-2025.

Background and personal life

Teffra was born on January 23, 2002, and grew up in Fresno, California.[1][2]

In a letter he wrote as a part of MileSplit’s “Dear Running” series, Teffra states that he ran his first race in seventh grade and “always was curious about what it was like competing on the next level.”[3]

He has a younger brother, Alazar, who competes for Georgetown University as of the 2025-6 competition season.[3][4]

High school career

In his “Dear Running” letter, Teffra writes he “didn’t take running seriously until [his] Junior year of High school”, when he began training under a new coach.[3]

His senior year, Teffra announced his commitment to Georgetown University.[3]

Due to widespread spring sport cancellations in 2020 resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, he was unable to compete his senior spring.[5][3]

Despite losing the opportunity to race his senior spring, Teffra graduated in 2020 with school records in the 800m, 1600m, 3200m, and the cross country 2 mile, 3 mile, and 5k events.[3][2]

College career

Throughout his collegiate career Teffra trained under Brandon Bonsey, who coaches the Georgetown University middle distance and long distance men.[6]

Freshman through junior year (Fall 2021 - Spring 2024)

Teffra did not compete his first year at Georgetown, opting to delay his four years of competition eligibility.[2] During his 2021-2022 season, Teffra set personal bests of 3:49.82 in the mile and 1:48.94 in the 800m.[7] The following year, during his 2022-2023 season, Teffra lowered his personal best in the mile to 3:57.76 and set a personal best in the 1000m of 2:21.80.[7] In his 2023-2024 season, Teffra again lowered his 1000m best to 2:19.17, and his mile to 3:54.62.[7]

Senior year (Fall 2024 - Spring 2025)

On March 15, 2025, Teffra won the 2025 NCAA indoor championship mile, his first national championship win, in a meet record time of 3:53.60.[8] [9] This performance also broke the previous NCAA indoor championship meet record, set by 2024 1500m Olympic gold medalist Cole Hocker.[10]

On April 25, alongside James Dunne, Theo Woods, and Tinoda Matsatsa, Teffra ran the final leg in the 2025 Penn Relays 4x800m relay, anchoring the Georgetown men to victory.[11] The team time was 7:13.95, with Teffra running a split of 1:48.94.[11]

On June 11, Teffra competed in the NCAA outdoor championship 1500m, failing to advance beyond the semifinal round with an 11th place finish in his heat in 3:53.52.[12] Since Teffra was coming off of his mile victory at NCAA indoors, running journalists called the result “stunning.”[13]

Pro career

On July 12, 2025 Teffra ran the 800m at the Sound Running Sunset Tour, placing 5th in 1:46.82.[14] In a post-race interview, Teffra confirmed that the race was his pro debut as an athlete for HOKA Running Club.[15]

On July 31, Teffra raced the 1500m at the USA Championships, failing to advance beyond the preliminary heats with a 7th place finish in 3:35.60.[16]

Personal bests[1]

Event Date Time Meet Location
800m May 17 2025 1:45.67 2025 Big East Outdoor Conference Championships Storrs, CT
1000m January 17, 2025 2:17.39 2025 Nittany Lion Challenge State College, PA
1500m May 4, 2025 3:33.84 2025 Duke Twilight Meet Durham, NC
Mile February 8, 2025 3:52.44 2025 Boston University Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational Boston, MA

References

  1. ^ a b "Abel TEFFRA | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2025-12-05.
  2. ^ a b c "Abel Teffra - Men's XC/Track". Georgetown University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Teffra, Abel. "Dear Running: This Sport Has Allowed Me To Pursue My Dream". MileSplit United States. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2025-12-04.
  4. ^ "Alazar Teffra - Men's XC/Track". Georgetown University Athletics. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Niehoff, Karissa (2020-05-06). "With Spring Sports/Activities Cancelled, State Leaders Salute Students, Volunteers". NFHS. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Teffra Named Regional Track Athlete of the Year, Bonsey Honored as Regional Assistant Coach of the Year". Georgetown University Athletics. 2025-03-21. Retrieved 2025-12-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b c "TFRRS | Abel Teffra – Track and Field Results & Statistics". www.tfrrs.org. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Men 1 Mile". flashresults.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "HOYA SAXA! Abel Teffra Wins Mile at NCAA Indoor T&F Championships". Georgetown University Athletics. 2025-03-15. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Good Sports: Fresno native wins NCAA indoor track and field championship". ABC30 Fresno. 2025-03-22. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b "The Penn Relays - April 24-26, 2025". pennrelaysonline.com. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "Men 1500 M". flashresults.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Gault, Jonathan; Johnson, Robert (2025-06-12). "2025 NCAAs Day 1: 1500m Bloodbath as Abel Teffra & Liam Murphy Are Eliminated". LetsRun.com. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Track Scoreboard". finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ CITIUS MAG (2025-07-12). NCAA Mile Champ Abel Teffra Talks Signing With Hoka, 1:46.8 800m At Sound Running Ahead Of USAs. Retrieved 2025-12-04 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "USA Championships | Results | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 2025-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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