Yared Kidane has come a long way from his home in Eskilstuna, Sweden. Last year, he swapped corn for wheat, transferring from Iowa Central Community College to Wichita State.
Until he came to the United States, Kidane had only competed in track. He made it to Iowa with the help of an international recruiter seeking athletes from Europe and Africa.
“I was (a) track guy. I was good back home,” Kidane said. “So one guy asked me on Facebook if I want to come to (the) USA and study for school, for (a) scholarship.”
Kidane came to the U.S. alone, leaving his family behind in Sweden. Living in America wasn’t like what he initially expected.
“When I was in Sweden, we heard about America,” Kidane said. “We thought America was like, you go there it’s like you see (a) big city everywhere. But when I came to Iowa, it was like, nothing, empty.”
Alone in the city of Fort Dodge, Iowa, Kidane managed to make a friend. He met fellow international student Sarah Bertry, who ran cross-country an hour and a half away at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City, at a meet.
“He’s from Eritrea, which is the country next to the country where I was born, in Ethiopia,” Bertry said. “So we have a lot of cultural things in common, especially the food. So that’s how we kind of bonded.”
Finishing up his junior college career, Kidane found himself at a crossroads on where to transfer. Faced with the prospect of going to school in Arkansas or Nebraska where he knew nobody, he found a familiar face at a meet in Wichita.
“He was telling me how he didn’t have a school, and I was kind of surprised, because he’s a very good runner,” Bertry said. “So I started talking to (head WSU cross country) coach (Kirk) Hunter, and then Coach Hunter was interested in him.”
During a successful redshirt year where Kidane won the 800 meter race at the Ichabod Invitational but was unable to compete in a Shocker uniform due to his redshirt status, he had time to mingle with his teammates.
“We really connected right off the bat, and I have been helping him out, especially when he didn’t have a car, I would take him to places and stuff last year,” teammate and sophomore Aidan Reyna said.
Both teammates describe Kidane as calm and collected, ready to lock in at any moment. But when in his comfort zone talking with his friends, both Bertry and Reyna describe him as a jokester, trying to make everyone laugh. His teammates have said his best quality is his kindness.
“I would say we went once or twice … and he will never let us pay for anything,” Bertry said. “And the times where we eat with him, he never lets us pay for going out or anything. So he’s very generous.”
During his time as a Shocker, Kidane has mostly stuck around with international students, becoming close to fellow runners like junior Adrian Diaz Lopez from Spain.
“I do miss my friends (from Sweden), the team (and) my teammates from high school,” Kidane said.
He has been able to return to Sweden, competing in the 800-meter race at the Swedish Championships and finishing sixth. Although Kidane was able to return to his family in Sweden, his family has not yet visited him in the U.S.
“They’re going to next year,” Kidane said.
The hospitality Kidane has encountered in Wichita has made him feel welcome as a Shocker.
“The coach is really good. The staff is here. They’re really good. They’re helpful. If you need anything, they (will) help you,” Kidane said.
