Medal record
Bekele at Berlin 2009
Men's athletics
Competitor for  Ethiopia
Olympic Games
Silver	2004 Athens	5000 m
Gold	2004 Athens	10,000 m
Gold	2008 Beijing	10,000 m
Gold	2008 Beijing	5000 m
World Championships
Bronze	2003 Paris	5000 m
Gold	2003 Paris	10,000 m
Gold	2005 Helsinki	10,000 m
Gold	2007 Osaka	10,000 m
Gold	2009 Berlin	5000 m
Gold	2009 Berlin	10,000 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold	2006 Moscow	3000 m
African Championships
Gold	2006 Bambous	5000 m
Gold	2008 Addis Ababa	5000 m
All-Africa Games
Gold	2003 Abuja	5000 m
World Cross Country Championships
Silver	2001 Ostend	Short race
Gold	2002 Dublin	Long race
Gold	2002 Dublin	Short race
Gold	2003 Lausanne	Long race
Gold	2003 Lausanne	Short race
Gold	2004 Brussels	Long race
Gold	2004 Brussels	Short race
Gold	2005 Saint-Galmier	Long race
Gold	2005 Saint-Galmier	Short race
Gold	2006 Fukuoka	Long race
Gold	2006 Fukuoka	Short race
Gold	2008 Edinburgh	Long race

This article contains Ethiopic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ethiopic characters.

Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha (Amharic:ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born June 13, 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events. He is the reigning Olympic champion in both events and also won the 2004 Olympic title over 10,000 m.

He is the most accomplished runner in IAAF World Cross Country Championships history, with six long (12 km) course and five short (4 km) course titles. He won the 10,000 m title at the World Championships in Athletics four times running from 2003 to 2009 (matching Haile Gebrselassie's win streak). Bekele was unbeaten over 10,000 m from his debut in 2003 until 2011, when he failed to finish at the World Championships final.

At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics he became the first man to win both 5000 m and 10,000 m title at the same championships. Over 5000 m he has also won an Olympic silver (2004), World Championship bronze (2003), two African Championship titles and one All-Africa Games gold medal. He also won the 3000 metres title at the World Indoor Championships in 2006.

With his vast array of medals, many consider him to be one of the greatest distance runners of all time. He is the older brother of Tariku Bekele, also an accomplished world-class distance runner.

Career[link]

Kenenisa was born in 1982 at Bekoji, in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, the same town as the Dibaba sisters (Ejegayehu, Tirunesh and Genzebe) and their cousin Derartu Tulu.

In August 2001 he set a new 3000 metres world junior record, 7:30.67 minutes in Brussels. The record lasted for three and a half years, being broken by Augustine Choge with a run of 7:28.78 minutes.^[1]

For five years in a row, from 2002 through 2006, he took both short (4 km) and long (12 km) races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, a feat no other runner has accomplished even once. In 2004, he broke the world records for the indoor 5000 m, outdoor 5000 m and outdoor 10,000 m.

Kenenisa is renowned for his ability to accelerate very quickly at the end of a long distance race; in Oslo 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 on 1 July 2003, Kenenisa recorded a 200 m segment during the last lap in 24 seconds and a 100 m section in 12 seconds to run a 52.63 final lap.

Kenenisa has faced his mentor Haile Gebrselassie once in road competition, once in cross country, and six times on the track. Haile defeated Kenenisa on the track in the 2000 Nurnberg 5000 metres, the 2001 Great Ethiopian Run 10 km, and the Cross de l'Acier in December 2001, but lost to Kenenisa in Hengelo 2003 over 10,000 m (26:53 to 26:54), Rome 2003 over 5000 m (12:57 to 13:00), Paris 2003 World Championships over 10,000 m (26:49 to 26:50), Athens 2004 Olympic Games (27:05 to 27:27), and in the 10,000 m in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (27:01 to 27:06).

2005 season[link]

On 4 January 2005, Kenenisa's fiancee, 18-year-old Alem Techale, died of an apparent heart attack while on a training run with him. Although it was initially stated that no autopsy was performed, Alem and Kenenisa's manager, Jos Hermens, later said that an autopsy had revealed nothing conclusive about the young woman's death. She was the 2003 World Youth Champion in the 1500 metres and in excellent physical condition.

Bekele competing in the 2006 Golden League

Over the next several weeks following Alem's death, Kenenisa grieved. He resumed racing on 29 January, and lost indoors over 3000 m to Ireland's Alistair Cragg after sprinting towards the line with one and a half laps to go, while thinking that there was only half a lap left. Such confusion was presumed to have been caused by his grief. A few weeks later he lost to fellow Ethiopian Markos Geneti over two miles.

In March, Kenenisa faced his toughest challenge yet. Despite his grief and recent losses on the track, he lined up to defend his long and short course titles at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. In dramatic fashion, Kenenisa bested the field in the short course despite a fast pace set by Qatari Saif Saaeed Shaheen. He followed that win with a long course victory the next day over Eritrean Zersenay Tadese and Kenyan rival Eliud Kipchoge.

On 8 August 2005, Kenenisa Bekele won the gold medal in the 10,000 m at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki with a stunning last 200 m spurt.^[2]

On 26 August 2005, Kenenisa set the current 10,000 m world record 26:17.53 at the 29th Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels, slicing nearly three seconds off his previous world record 26:20.31, and running with 5000 m splits of 13:09 and 13:08 minutes.^[3][4] At the end of 2005 Bekele was voted the Track & Field News magazine athlete of the year for the second year in a row.

2006–2007[link]

When Kenenisa won the 3000 m at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Moscow, he became the first athlete in history to be Olympic champion, world outdoor track champion, world indoor track champion, and world cross country champion.

In 2006 he won five out of six IAAF Golden League events (5000 m) in the same season, which earned him a total of US$83,333.

On 17 February 2007, he broke the indoor world record over 2000 m in Birmingham, with a time of 4:49.99. His spectacular final 300 m aided this time which would be considered excellent even outdoors.

Bekele at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships

On 24 March 2007, however, his remarkable racing streak of 27 consecutive victories in cross country races (dating back to his last previous loss in December 2001) came to an end when after leading the race in the penultimate lap of the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa he succumbed to the very hot, humid conditions (which caused more than 1/6 of all competitors to drop out) and was passed by eventual winner Zersenay Tadese on the last lap before Kenenisa dropped out. This was greeted with cheers by the Kenyan crowds, an occurrence which has been frowned upon by the wider athletics community.

He recovered from that rare failure to take the 10,000 metres title at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, once again besting his compatriot Sileshi Sihine. During that race, he looked like he was going to be dropped several times over the last 800 metres, but recovered to overtake Sileshi with 150 metres to go and take his third straight world title.

On 18 November 2007, Kenenisa married Ethiopian film actress Danawit Gebregziabher at the Sheraton Addis, in Addis Ababa.^[5]

Beijing Olympics and Berlin World Championships[link]

In Edinburgh on 30 March 2008, Bekele won his sixth World Cross Country title (long course – 12k), breaking the three way tie of 5 wins he had previously shared with Paul Tergat and John Ngugi. With this win, Kenenisa laid sole claim to most decorated athlete in IAAF World Cross Country Championships history. He has won 6 long course (12k) individual gold medals, 5 short course (4k) gold medals, 1 junior championship (8k), and 4 team gold medals for a sum total of 16 gold medals. His overall medal count (both individual and team results) stands at 27 medals: 16 gold, 9 silver and 2 bronze.

On 17 August 2008 Kenenisa won gold in the 10,000 m finals with a time of 27:01.17, setting a new Olympic Record in the process. In a race in which 20 men broke the 28 minute barrier and four finished under Bekele's 2004 Olympic record of 27:05.10, he needed his renowned finishing kick to pull out the victory, running a 53.42 second final 400 metres (similar to the 53 second final 400 meter sprint he used to win the gold medal in Athens in 2004 over the same distance).^[6]

Kenenisa Bekele at the 2009 World Championships.

On 23 August 2008 Kenenisa bested his competitors and won the 5000 m finals, shattering Saïd Aouita's Olympic Record by almost eight seconds with a time of 12:57.82. The race was remarkable for Kenenisa's manner of doing most of the pacing himself before accelerating to a scintillating finish: his last 3000 metres only took 7:35.53, his final 2000 metres 4:56.97, last 1600 metres 3:57.01 (=3:58.6 final mile) and his final lap a punishing 53.87 seconds.

By winning the 10,000/5000 m double in the Beijing Olympics, Kenenisa joined another elite group of athletes: Hannes Kolehmainen (1912), Emil Zátopek (1952), Vladimir Kuts (1956), Lasse Virén (twice, in 1972 and 1976), and Miruts Yifter (1980).

Kenenisa won two gold medals at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, held in Berlin. His double victories in 5000 m (13:17.09) and 10,000 m (26:46.31 - a World Championships Record) were unprecedented and by doing this became the first man to take both the long distance track gold medals at the same World Championships.^[7] His talent combination of endurance and speed has made it nearly impossible to defeat Kenenisa when he is in full strength. During the 10,000m race in which Kenenisa was running behind Eritrea's Zersenay Tadesse, the broadcaster declared "it is over, in fact it was over from the start" as the final lap began and Kenenisa returned a close race into a blowout. The IAAF announcer concluded, "this man is probably the greatest distance runner we will ever see."^[8] In spite of his unrivalled success in athletics, he did not experience the mainstream appeal that others such as Haile Gebrselassie did. His quiet demeanour and aversion to interviews did not make him a highly marketable athlete in the Western world. Fellow world record holder Usain Bolt stated that Bekele's achievements had not received the recognition that they deserved.^[9]

Injuries[link]

Bekele made a disappointing start to the new year, finishing fourth in the Edinburgh Cross Country in a race he was favored to win – a trio of Kenyan athletes ran him out of the contest over the final lap. Bekele spent the entirety of the indoor and outdoor seasons out, with a ruptured calf muscle.

Bekele finally returned to training from a knee injury in March 2011.^[10] Having not raced on the track since 2009, Bekele returned for the World Championships.^[11] But Bekele dropped out of the 10,000m with 10 laps remaining.^[12] Bekele decided not to run the 5,000m.^[13] Bekele returned to the Diamond League at the Ivo Van Damme Memorial in Brussels where he set the fastest time in the world for the 10,000 metres in 2011.^[14][15] His 2012 did not start well, as he was a lowly eleventh place at the Edinburgh Cross Country.^[16] In April, he appeared to have returned to form by winning the Great Ireland Run in a new personal best time for a 10 km road race of 27:49, improving the course record by 46 seconds. ^[17]

Statistics[link]

Personal bests[link]

Bekele competing on the 2006 Meeting Gaz de France

Yearly progression[link]

Competition record[link]

Major international competitions[link]

Bekele leading the 5000 m at the 2009 World Championships

Bekele celebrating victory at the 2009 World Championships

• Note: XC stands for cross country

World Grand Prix Finals[link]

Circuit honours[link]

• IAAF Golden League jackpot winner: 2006, 2009
• Montferland Run 15K: 2000, 2001
• Giro al Sas 11K: 2001
• Memorial Peppe Greco 10K: 2003

Cross country wins

• Tilburg Warandeloop: 2000
• Cinque Mulini: 2002
• Lotto Cross Cup Brussels: 2002
• Oeiras International Cross Country: 2002, 2003
• Campaccio: 2002, 2004
• Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza: 2003
• Trofeo Alasport: 2003
• Cross Internacional de Itálica: 2003, 2004, 2007
• Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños: 2004
• Great Edinburgh International Cross Country: 2006, 2007, 2008

Awards[link]

• IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2004, 2005
• Track & Field News Athlete of the Year: 2004, 2005
• Ethiopian Person of the Year: 2007/2008

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kenenisa Bekele

• IAAF profile for Kenenisa Bekele
• IAAF: Focus on Athletes
• Kenenisa Bekele Webpage
• Beijing 2008 Men 10000 m – EthioTube Video
• Beijing 2008 Men 5000 m – EthioTube Video

Records
Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie	Men's 10,000 m World Record Holder 8 June 2004 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie	Men's 5,000 m World Record Holder 31 May 2004 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hicham El Guerrouj	Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2004–2005	Succeeded by Asafa Powell
Sporting positions
Preceded by Stephen Cherono	Men's 5000 m Best Year Performance 2004–2009	Succeeded by Eliud Kipchoge
Preceded by Haile Gebrselassie Micah Kogo	Men's 10,000 m Best Year Performance 2004 – 2005 2007 – 2009	Succeeded by Micah Kogo Josphat Kiprono Menjo
Preceded by Isaac Kiprono Songok	Men's 3000 m Best Year Performance 2007	Succeeded by Edwin Cheruiyot Soi

Lucas Kimeli Rotich (born 16 April 1990) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres.

He won a silver medal in the 3000 metres at the 2007 World Youth Championships, the bronze medal in the junior race at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships and finished sixth in the 5000 metres at the 2009 World Athletics Final.^[1] He ran in the men's race at the 2010 World Cross Country Championships, but finished the race in twelfth position with an injury. After recovering, he set new personal bests over 3000 m, 5000 m and 10,000 m on the European circuit.

He won at the Tuskys Cross Country in November 2010 and was focused on performing well at the 2011 World Cross Country Championships.^[2] He had a top three finish at the Cross Internacional Zornotza in January.^[3] He failed to qualify for the world cross event and instead changed his focus to road running, completing a half marathon debut at the City-Pier-City Loop in a time of 59:44 minutes for fifth place.^[4] He headed to the United States and finished in second place at the Beach to Beacon 10K with a time of 27:56 minutes.^[5] He was the 2011 winner of the Falmouth Road Race and finished as runner-up at the Portugal Half Marathon in September.^[6][7] He ran at the Lisbon Half Marathon (the city's other major race) in March and reached third on the podium.^[8]

His personal best times are 3:43.64 minutes in the 1500 metres, achieved in May 2008 in Rehlingen; 7:35.57 minutes in the 3000 metres, achieved in May 2011 in Doha; 12:55.06 minutes in the 5000 metres from the 2010 Bislett Games; and 26:43.98 minutes in the 10,000 metres, achieved in September 2011 at the Brussels Diamond League meeting.^[1]

References[link]

Mohammed Farah

Farah at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships
Personal information
Nationality	British
Born	(1983-03-23) 23 March 1983 (age 29) Mogadishu, Somalia[1]
Residence	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Weight	65 kg (140 lb; 10.2 st)[2]
Sport
Sport	Running
Event(s)	1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m
Club	Newham and Essex Beagles Oregon Track Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	800 m: 1:48.69 (Eton 2003) 1500 m: 3:33.98 (Monaco 2009) 3000 m: 7:34.47 (Birmingham 2009) 5000 m: 12:53.11 (Monaco 2011) 10000 m: 26:46.57 (Eugene 2011) Half Marathon: 60:23 (New York 2011)
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  Great Britain World Championships Gold 2011 Daegu 5000 m Silver 2011 Daegu 10000 m European Championships Gold 2010 Barcelona 10000 m Gold 2010 Barcelona 5000 m Silver 2006 Göteborg 5000 m European Indoor Championships Gold 2009 Torino 3000 m Gold 2011 Paris 3000 m European Cross Country Championships Gold 2006 San Giorgio su Legnano Individual Silver 2008 Brussels Individual Silver 2009 Dublin Individual Silver 2009 Dublin Team Bronze 2008 Brussels Team European Team Championships Gold 2009 Leiria 5000 m

Mohamed "Mo" Farah (Somali: Muxammad Faarax, Arabic: محمد فرح‎; born 23 March 1983 in Mogadishu, Somalia^[1]) is a Somalia-born British international track and field athlete, and current 5000 m world champion. On the track, he generally competes over 5000 metres and 10,000 metres, but also runs the 3000 metres and occasionally the 1500 metres. He has expressed a desire to move up to the marathon after the 2012 Olympics.^[3]

Farah holds the European track record for 10,000 metres, the British road record for 10,000 metres, the British indoor record in the 3000 metres, the British track record for 5000 metres, the British half-marathon record, and the European indoor record for 5000 metres. In July 2010, Farah won Britain's first-ever men's European gold medal at 10,000 m.^[4] He followed this with a gold in the 5000 m, becoming the 5th male athlete to complete the long-distance double at the championships and the first British man to do so.^[5] At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, he won silver in the 10,000 m and gold in the 5000 m.^[6]

In addition, Farah competes in cross-country running, where in December 2006 he became European champion in Italy.^[7] He also took gold in the 3000 metres in both the 2009 and 2011 European Indoor Championships, in Turin and Paris respectively.

Farah was originally based in London and ran for Newham and Essex Beagles athletics club, training at St Mary's University College, Twickenham's sports facilities in Strawberry Hill from 2001 to 2011. In 2011 he relocated to Oregon, USA, in order to further his training. He is an ambassador for Bupa, Lucozade Sport and Nike. Farah was voted 2011 European athlete of the year from twelve nominees, with Christophe Lemaitre in second place.^[8]

Biography[link]

Junior career[link]

Farah was born in Somalia.^[1] He grew up in Djibouti, and arrived in Britain aged 8 years old, speaking barely a word of English.^[1] Farah's father, on the other hand,his father was born in England and grew up in Hounslow. His parents met after his father went on holiday to Somalia.^[9]

Farah attended Feltham Community College in London. His athletic talent was identified by physical education teacher Alan Watkinson at Isleworth and Syon School, who later said of Farah: "When I first met him, he was struggling academically and suffering from the language barrier.^[10] He needed focus and I sort of took him under my wing. His passion was football but it was his turn of speed on the pitch that showed his real talent. His ambitions consisted of playing on the right wing for Arsenal.^[11] Watkinson would offer Farah the incentive of playing football for 30 minutes in the gym before taking him to the running club.

In 1996, at the age of 13, Farah entered the English schools cross country and finished ninth. The following year he won the first of five English school titles.^[10]

His first major title was at 5000 metres at the European Athletics Junior Championship in 2001^[12], the same year that he began training at St Mary's University College, Twickenham. That year Farah became one of the first two athletes in the newly formed Endurance Performance Centre at St Mary’s. He lived and trained at the College, and took some modules in an access course before becoming a full-time athlete as his career progressed.

Senior career[link]

2005–2008[link]

In 2005, Farah made an important move, moving in with Australian Craig Mottram and a group of Kenyan runners that included 10,000 metres world number one Micah Kogo. "They sleep, eat, train and rest, that's all they do but as an athlete you have to do all those things. Running with Craig made me feel more positive," Farah said. "If I ever want to be as good as these athletes I've got to work harder. I don't just want to be British number one, I want to be up there with the best."^[10]

In July 2006, Farah clocked a time of 13 minutes 9.40 seconds for 5000 m to become Britain's second-fastest runner after Dave Moorcroft. A month later Farah collected the silver medal in the European Championship 5000 m in Gothenburg. Coaches Alan Storey and Mark Rowland made sure that Farah remained competitive and a few words from Paula Radcliffe before the 5000 m final inspired Farah. He has stated that: "She said to me, 'Go out and be brave. Just believe in yourself'."^[10]

In December 2006, Farah won the European Cross Country Championship in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy.^[7]

Farah represented the UK at 5000 m in the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Farah finished sixth in a time of 13:47.54.^[13]

In May 2008, Farah ran 10,000 m events, claiming the fastest UK men's time for almost eight years. However, he suffered disappointment at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, being knocked out before the final in the 5000 m event.

2009–2010: British records and European champion[link]

In January 2009, Farah set a new British indoor record in the 3000 metres, breaking John Mayock's record with a time of 7 minutes 40.99 seconds in Glasgow.^[14] A few weeks later he broke his own record by more than six seconds with a time of 7 minutes 34.47 at the UK Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham,^[15] a performance which commentator Steve Cram called "the best performance by a male British distance runner for a generation".^[16] Farah attributed his good form to a spell of winter training at altitude in Ethiopia and Kenya.^[17] In March 2009 he took gold in the 3000 m at the European Indoor Championships in Turin, recording a time of 7 minutes 40.17.^[18]

Farah shadowing Ayad Lamdassem in the 10,000 m final of the 2010 European Athletics Championships

He competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics: he was in the leading pack early on in the 5000 metres race and eventually finished seventh – the best by a European runner. After the championships, he scored a victory in his first road competition over 10 miles, winning the Great South Run in 46:25 to become the third fastest Briton in spite of strong winds.^[19]

Farah was one of the favourites to upset Serhiy Lebid's dominance at the 2009 European Cross Country Championships.^[20] However, Lebid was never in contention as Farah and Alemayehu Bezabeh were some distance ahead throughout. Farah was overtaken by Bezabeh in the latter stages of the race, leaving the Briton with a second consecutive silver medal at the competition.^[21] He did not manage to attend the medal ceremony, however, as he collapsed immediately after the race and needed medical attention.^[22] After a close third place behind Edwin Soi at the BOclassic,^[23] he competed in the short course race at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country. He was the favourite to win and surged ahead to build a comfortable lead. However, he appeared tired in the latter stages and finished third behind British runners Ricky Stevenson and Steve Vernon. Farah again required post-race medical attention and subsequent tests revealed he had low levels of iron and magnesium. He was prescribed supplements for the condition and his high altitude training plans in Kenya were unaffected.^[24]

Farah celebrating his 2010 European Championships 10,000 metres gold medal

He won the 2010 London 10,000 in late May with a British road record time of 27:44, beating 10K world record holder Micah Kogo in the process.^[25] His success continued the following week at the European Cup 10,000 m as he improved his track best by nearly 16 seconds, finishing in 27:28.86. He won by a margin of over forty seconds ahead of second placed Abdellatif Meftah.^[26] After training in Africa, he returned to Europe for the 2010 European Athletics Championships. He took the 10,000 metres gold medal, overtaking Ayad Lamdassem with two laps to go and finishing the race unpressured in a time of 28:24.99. This was Farah's first major title and also the first European gold medal in the event for Great Britain.^[27] He then went on to win the 5000 m from Jesus Espana, becoming only the fifth man in the 66-year history of the European Championships to achieve the 5000 m/10,000 m double, and the first for 20 years, following in the footsteps of the Czech Emil Zatopek in 1950, Zdzislaw Krzyszkowiak of Poland in 1958, Finland’s Juha Vaatainen in 1971 and Salvatore Antibo, of Italy, in 1990.^[5][28]

On 19 August 2010, at a Diamond League meeting in Zurich, Farah ran 5000 m in 12:57.94, breaking David Moorcroft's long-standing British record and becoming the first ever British athlete to run under 13 minutes.^[29] In December 2010, Farah was named the track-and-field athlete of the year for 2010 by the British Olympic Association.^[30] He closed the year at the BOclassic and just missed out on the 10K title, losing out to Imane Merga in a sprint finish by 0.2 seconds.^[31]

2011: European and British records, and world medals[link]

2011 proved to be a highly successful year for Farah, beginning on 8 January at the Edinburgh Cross Country, where he defeated the top four finishers of that year's European Championships to take victory in the long race.^[32]

In February 2011, Farah announced that he would be relocating to Portland, Oregon, USA, to work with new coach Alberto Salazar. On 19 February 2011 in Birmingham, England, he broke the European 5000 m indoor record with a time of 13:10.60, at the same time taking ten seconds off the 29-year-old British indoor record of Nick Rose.^[33]

On 5 March 2011, he won gold in the 3000 metres at the European Indoor Championships.

On 20 March 2011 he won the NYC Half Marathon in a time of 1:00:23, a new British record.^[34][35] He and training partner Galen Rupp had originally planned on running a 10,000 m race in New Zealand, but after it was canceled due to an earthquake and damage done to the track, they entered the half-marathon in New York.

On 3 June 2011, at a Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon, USA, Farah won the Prefontaine Classic 10,000 m in 26:46.57, setting a new British and European record.^[36]

On 22 July 2011, at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco, he set a new British national record in the 5000 m with a time of 12:53.11.^[37] He edged out American Bernard Lagat to win.^[37]

In the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, in Daegu, South Korea, Farah made a major breakthrough on the world stage by taking the silver medal in the 10,000 m and then the gold in the 5000 m.^[38] He became the first British man to win a global title over either distance.^[39] Farah had in fact been more strongly fancied to take the 10,000 m title, but was narrowly beaten in a last lap sprint by Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan. In the 5000 m he overcame Bernard Lagat, perhaps his major rival, beating him into second place. Following the race, Dave Moorcroft, former 5000 metres world record holder, hailed Farah as "the greatest male distance runner that Britain has ever seen".^[40]

Personal life[link]

In April 2010 Farah married his longtime partner Tania Nell, in Richmond, London. Other athletes at the wedding included Paula Radcliffe, Steve Cram, Hayley Yelling, Jo Pavey, and Swedish steeplechaser Mustafa Mohamed.^[41] He has a six year-old step-daughter, Rihanna.^[42] He is a fan of Arsenal Football Club.^[43]

Achievements[link]

Personal bests[link]

+ intermediate split in longer race

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• IAAF profile for Mohamed Farah
• Guardian article by Steve Cram
• Mo Farah's Rising Star profile on spikesmag.com
• In-depth article from Independent

Medal record
Dibaba at the 2008 Bislett Games.
Women's Athletics
Competitor for  Ethiopia
Olympic Games
Gold	2008 Beijing	10000 m
Gold	2008 Beijing	5000 m
Bronze	2004 Athens	5000 m
World Championships
Gold	2003 Paris	5000 m
Gold	2005 Helsinki	5000 m
Gold	2005 Helsinki	10000 m
Gold	2007 Osaka	10000 m
World Cross Country Championships
Gold	2003 Lausanne	Junior race
Gold	2005 Saint-Galmier	Short race
Gold	2005 Saint-Galmier	Long race
Gold	2006 Fukuoka	Long race
Gold	2008 Edinburgh	Senior race
Silver	2002 Dublin	Junior race
Silver	2004 Bruxelles	Short race
Silver	2007 Mombasa	Senior race
African Championships
Gold	2008 Addis Ababa	10000 m
Gold	2010 Nairobi	10000 m
Silver	2006 Bambous	5000 m
World Junior Championships
Silver	2002 Kingston	5000 m

Tirunesh Dibaba also known as Tirunesh Dibaba Kenene (Amharic: ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ ቀነኔ; born October 1, 1985 in Bekoji, Arsi, Ethiopia) is an Ethiopian long distance track athlete and the outdoor 5000 metres world record holder.^[1] She is the current Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000 metres champion. She has also won four world track titles and five world cross country titles. She is nicknamed the "Baby Faced Destroyer".

Born in the village of Bekoji, Dibaba was the 4th of 6 children. She is a member of the Oromo ethnic group, and was raised in the high-altitude Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region. She began doing athletics at the age of 14. She moved to the capital Addis Ababa in 2000.

Dibaba is part of an athletic family, with older sister Ejegayehu Dibaba also making her mark on the international stage and brother Dejene marked as a future star. Their sister Genzebe won the junior race at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships.^[2] 1992 and 2000 Olympic champion Derartu Tulu is also their cousin. She continues the successful athletic history of the Oromo people in long distance running.

Career[link]

Dibaba's first fully international outdoor track event was the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Running at the age of 15 in women's junior race, she finished 5th. She won the 5000 m silver medal at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games.

Dibaba had great success in the world championships athletics events of 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2003, Dibaba won the 5000 m in a sprint finish against Marta Dominguez of Spain and Edith Masai of Kenya. She became the youngest athlete ever to win an individual gold medal at the World Championships. So little was known about her that during this race British commentators Steve Cram and Brendan Foster failed to mention her name even once until the final 100 metres. At the 2005 championships, Dibaba produced a blistering finish to out-sprint compatriot Berhane Adere and her own sister Ejegayehu and also became the first woman to win the 10,000/5,000 m double at the same championships. In 2007, when the championships were held in Osaka, Dibaba again utilised her sprint finish to overhaul Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse despite a tumble that happened mid-race and having abdominal pains throughout the race. She became the only woman to win back-to-back 10,000 m titles. In Osaka, Dibaba won with a time of 31:55.41.

At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Dibaba was beaten into third place by Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and Isabella Ochichi of Kenya in 5000 m event. The result was considered by some to be a disappointment but at 19, she still became the youngest ever medalist for Ethiopia at the Olympics.

In 2006 she won five out of six Golden League events (5000 m) in the same season, which earned her a total of $83,333.

Dibaba is also a remarkably successful cross country runner; she has five IAAF World Cross Country Championships victories, including one junior title (Lausanne, 2003), one short course title (Saint-Galmier, 2005), and two long course titles (Saint-Galmier, 2005, and Fukuoka, 2006). From 2007, there was just one race in each category. Dibaba won the silver in the women's race at Mombasa in 2007 and the gold at Edinburgh in 2008.

Dibaba is known to have an on-track rivalry with Meseret Defar, and races featuring the two are highly anticipated, but rare, usually only occurring at championships.

A major feature of Dibaba's running style is an incredible sprint finish. During the final lap of the 10,000 m in 2005, Dibaba was clocked over the closing 400 m in 58.33 seconds.

Double Olympic gold[link]

Dibaba created a new 5000 metres world record, 14 minutes 11.15 seconds, at the Oslo Golden League 2008 meeting.^[1]

Dibaba won 10,000 metres Gold in Beijing Olympic on August 15, 2008, setting a new Olympic record time of 29:54.66; the old record of 30:17.49 had been set by fellow Ethiopian and cousin Derartu Tulu at Sydney Olympic Summer Games back in 2000. The new Olympic record was also the second fastest 10,000 meters of all time and an African record. The previous African record (30:04.18) was held by Berhane Adere, set at the 2003 World Championships.

One week later on August 22, 2008 she won the 5000 metres by beating the defending gold medalist Meseret Defar. Dibaba finished the race in 15:41.40. This olympic double win made her the first ever woman to win both 5000 and 10,000 metres at the same Olympics.^[3]

She was named 2008 Track & Field News Athlete of the Year.^[4] She also received the IAAF award for the female Performance of the Year for 2008, the same award she already collected in 2005.

Injuries after Beijing Olympics[link]

In 2009 injuries prevented her from competing in the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Amman and 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin.

On November 15, 2009 she won the Zevenheuvelenloop 15 kilometres race in Nijmegen, Netherlands and beat Kayoko Fukushi's 15 km world record by almost half a minute, finishing in 46:28. This was her first competitive road race since 2005, but she downplayed the idea of moving on to road running, stating that the track remained her priority.^[5]

At 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz she couldn't repeat her great performances from previous championships and finished fourth. Dibaba defended her 10,000 m title at 2010 African Championships in Athletics in Nairobi with a time of 31:51.39 ahead of teammate Meselech Melkamu and Linet Masai of Kenya. Her final 400 m was timed at 61 seconds.^[6]

Return in 2012[link]

Her career was again beset by injuries and after 16 months out of competition, she returned at the 2011 New Year's Eve San Silvestre Vallecana and won by beating Gelete Burka in a sprint finish.^[7] She won the two-mile race at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix and took her second career win at the Carlsbad 5000 in March.^[8][9]

Personal life[link]

Dibaba is married to 2004 and 2008 Olympic 10,000 meter silver medallist Sileshi Sihine.

After the Beijing Olympics her club, the Prisons Police, bestowed the rank of Chief Superintendent for her services to club and country.^[10] The hospital named after her is located on the outskirt of Addis Ababa.

IAAF Results[link]

Diamond League[link]

Diamond League is an annual series of track and field meets organised by the IAAF and founded in 2010.

Dibaba celebrating her 10,000 m victory at the 2007 World Championships.

World Athletics Final[link]

World Athletics Final was an annual athletics competition organised by the IAAF from 2003 to 2009.

Golden League[link]

Golden League was an annual series of track and field meetings organised by the IAAF from 1998 to 2009.

Personal bests[link]

Outdoor[link]

Indoor[link]

Video Interview[link]

• Video Interview of Tirunesh Dibaba before and after 2007 IAAF World Championships 10,000m

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tirunesh Dibaba

• The Official Tirunesh Dibaba Website
• IAAF profile for Tirunesh Dibaba
• IAAF "Focus on Athletes" article
• Athletics Africa report
• Tirunesh Dibaba's profile from Global Athletics
• Beijing 2008 Women's 10000 m EthioTube Video
• Beijing 2008 Women's 5000 m EthioTube Video
• Article from Running Times
• Article from Runner's World

Records
Preceded by Meseret Defar	Women's 5,000 m World Record Holder June 6, 2008 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Meseret Defar	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2008	Succeeded by Sanya Richards
Sporting positions
Preceded by Meseret Defar	Women's 5,000 m Best Year Performance 2008–2009	Succeeded by Vivian Cheruiyot