By Tesfa Mogessie

ARSI, Ethiopia

 Clad in sportswear and cleated running shoes, Ephrata Ansa warmed up for a two-hour, early-morning 100-meter sprint.

At 17, Ansa hopes to eventually become an Olympic medalist.

"I am inspired by all the big names who came from this city and became world-renowned athletic stars," Ansa said, citing well-known Ethiopian athletes Tirunesh Dibaba, Derartu Tulua and Kenenissa, all of whom came from Arsi.

The young girl has come all the way from capital Addis Ababa to Arsi's Athlete Tirunesh Dibaba Sports Training Center – some 180km away – in hopes of becoming an international star.

She isn't alone. Scores of other Ethiopian athletes are doing the same, coming to the center in hopes of replicating the careers of earlier Ethiopian athletes who managed to achieve international fame.

Established in 2009, the training center is the result of a dream to become a factory of champions, a fountain of athletic talent – and many Ethiopians are living this dream.

Ansa is one of them.

"Inspiration brought me here, as many athletes are born here and later made it big in the international athletics arena," the young girl said.

"I am happy to see Arsi not only giving birth to athletes, but also to be a training hub," she added.

Serious work

Inside the center, enthusiasm fills every corner. Several athletes were inside, receiving instruction from coaches on how to improve their abilities.

Coach Tariku Temech, for one, was busy instructing his players.

He gives players orders to warm up before running on the track. He is as young as the people he is instructing, but speaks articulately in the manner of a true leader.

"The trainees have good discipline and ambition to improve their performance," Temech said. "They are very committed."

With every step he makes inside the center, Temech said, he sees hope in the eyes of all trainees. He added that everybody coming to the center imagined him or herself on equal footing with Ethiopia's big athletic names.

The center is named after Tirunesh Didada, an iconic Ethiopian athlete who won the Olympic gold medal several times. Didada was born in Arsi. Many of Ethiopia's world stars were born and raised here, too.

Fully aware of the potential talents in the area, the government invested $11 million to establish the center. While it is only 74 percent complete, the center is currently receiving scores of athletes and potential champions.

Center Director Bizuneh Kebu said the people who came to the center were all inspired by famous athletes who were born in the town of Asela.

"This inspiration can lead them to success one day," Kebu said.

He added that the center offered athletic scholarships to many of Ethiopia's young athletes.

Kebu noted that, at the beginning, the center had admitted 250 athletes from all regions.

"Despite this, only 176 athletes continued to come, while the rest either fell ill or were hired by sports clubs," he added.

Nevertheless, the training center is chalking up successes. The center's athletes have managed to win 30 medals in competitions across Ethiopia since the center was established.

Defying challenges

Center athletes receive $2.50 each every day for food and treatment. While this is peanuts compared to the money an athlete needs to invest in training, food and sportswear, money appears to be of little concern for those who come here.

Desalegn Dersa, 21, joined the center in 2013, hoping to win an international medal, just like well-known Ethiopian long-distance runners Haile Gebresilasse and Kenenissa Bekele.

Dersa hails from Ethiopia's western Benishangul-Gumuz State. In 2013, he won a bronze medal at the Ethiopian Youth Athletics Championship.

Nearby, Ansa, the 17-year-old girl from Addis Ababa, was in the middle of her training.

As she trained, Ansa said that she never forgot that she, too, may become a world star one day.

"Inspiration brought me here. I look at my personal performance and see the improvement," the young athlete said optimistically.