Kenenisa Bekele

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Olympic medal record
Men's Athletics
Gold	2004 Athens	10,000 m
Silver	2004 Athens	5,000 m

Kenenisa Bekele (born June 13, 1982 in Bekoji, a town in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian distance runner who took the gold medal in the 10,000 m at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics and the bronze at the 5,000 m. He is the older brother of Tariku Bekele.

As of 2006, he has taken both (short and long) races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships five years in a row, a feat no other runner has accomplished even once. In 2004, he broke the world records for the indoor 5,000 m, outdoor 5,000 m and outdoor 10,000 m.

Bekele has faced his mentor Haile Gebrselassie once in road competition, once in cross country, and five times on the track. Gebrselassie defeated Bekele on the track in the 2000 Nurnberg 5,000 meters, the 2001 Great Ethiopian Run 10km, and the Cross de l'Acier in December of 2001, but lost to Bekele in Hengelo 2003 over 10,000 m (26:53 to 26:54), Rome 2003 over 5000 m (12:57 to 13:00), Paris 2003 over 10,000 m (26:49 to 26:50), and Athens 2004 (27:05 to 27:27). In the 10,000 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics Kenenisa took the title away from his compatriot Haile Gebrselassie, who achieved a fifth place. Bekele closed the last 400 in 53.02 seconds, outkicking his teammate Sileshi Sihine. Bekele also took a close silver medal in the 5,000 m in the same Olympics, being kicked down in the last 50 meters by the miler Hicham El Guerrouj.

Bekele is renowned for this ability to accelerate very quickly at the end of a long distance race; in Oslo, Norway in June 2003, Bekele chased after Kenyan Abraham Chebii and ran a 54.64 final 400 to win the race in 12:52.26. Again in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 1, 2003, Bekele recorded a 200 m segment during the last lap in 24 seconds and a 100 m section in 11.xx seconds to run a 52.63 final lap.

Bekele won the gold medal in the 10,000 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics with a stunning last 200 m spurt before later in the summer taking down his own 10,000 m world record in Brussels, Belgium, running 26:17.53 with 5,000 m halves of 13:09 and 13:08. In 2006 he won five out of six Golden League events (5,000 m) in the same season, which earned him a total of $83,333.

[edit] Current world records (as of August 2005)

5,000 m indoor world record 12:49.60 (Birmingham, England, on February 20 2004)
5,000 m world record 12:37.35 (Hengelo, Netherlands, on May 31 2004) from compatriot Haile Gebrselassie at 12:39.36 (on June 13, 1998)
10,000 m world record 26:17.53 (Brussels, Belgium, on August 26 2005, breaking his previous record of 26:20.31 from June 8, 2004, which at the time replaced Gebrselassie's former record at 26:22.75 from June 1, 1998).

[edit] Major victories

2006 African Championships in Athletics 5,000 m, Bambous (Mauritius)
2006 World Cross Country Champion in short race, Fukuoka (Japan)
2006 World Cross Country Champion in long race, Fukuoka (Japan)
2006 World Indoor Champion 3,000 m, Moscow (Russia)
2005 World Cross Country Champion in short race, St. Etienne (France)
2005 World Cross Country Champion in long race, St. Etienne (France)
2005 World Track Champion 10,000 m, Helsinki (Finland)
2004 World Cross Country Champion in short race
2004 World Cross Country Champion in long race
2004 Olympic Champion 10,000 m, Athens (Greece)
2003 World Cross Country Champion in short race
2003 World Cross Country Champion in long race
2003 World Track Champion 10,000 m, Paris (France)
2002 World Cross Country Champion in short race
2002 World Cross Country Champion in long race
2001 World Junior Cross Country Champion 8000 m

Olympic champions in men's 5 miles and 10000 m
As five miles: 1906: Henry Hawtrey \| 1908: Emil Voigt
As 10000 metres: 1912: Hannes Kolehmainen \| 1920: Paavo Nurmi \| 1924: Ville Ritola \| 1928: Paavo Nurmi \| 1932: Janusz Kusociński \| 1936: Ilmari Salminen \| 1948: Emil Zátopek \| 1952: Emil Zátopek \| 1956: Vladimir Kuts \| 1960: Pyotr Bolotnikov \| 1964: Billy Mills \| 1968: Naftali Temu \| 1972: Lasse Virén \| 1976: Lasse Virén \|1980: Miruts Yifter \| 1984: Alberto Cova \| 1988: Brahim Boutayeb \| 1992: Khalid Skah \| 1996: Haile Gebrselassie \| 2000: Haile Gebrselassie \| 2004: Kenenisa Bekele

Olympic champions in men's 5 miles and 10000 m

As five miles: 1906: Henry Hawtrey | 1908: Emil Voigt