Kenenisa Bekele
Ethiopia
Long-distance runner
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Career Kenenisa was born in 1982 at Bekoji, 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. 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, Kenenisa 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 twice 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), in the 10,000 m in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (27:01 to 27:06), and in the Great North Run half marathon in September 2013 (60:09 to 60:41).
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Personal bests
PERSONAL BEST - OUTDOOR
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PERFORMANCE |
PLACE |
DATE |
|
1500 Metres |
3:32.35 |
Shanghai |
28 SEP 2007 |
|
3000 Metres |
7:25.79 |
Stockholm |
07 AUG 2007 |
|
Two Miles |
8:13.51 |
Hengelo (Blankers-Koen Stadion) |
26 MAY 2007 |
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5000 Metres |
12:37.35 |
Hengelo (Blankers-Koen Stadion) |
31 MAY 2004 |
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10,000 Metres |
26:17.53 |
Bruxelles (Boudewijnstadion) |
26 AUG 2005 |
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10 Kilometres |
27:47 |
Dublin |
15 APR 2012 |
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15 Kilometres |
42:42 |
Heerenberg |
09 DEC 2001 |
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Half Marathon |
01:01:11 |
Berlin |
25 SEP 2016 |
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25 Kilometres |
01:12:47 |
Berlin |
25 SEP 2016 |
|
30 Kilometres |
01:27:25 |
London |
24 APR 2016 |
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Marathon |
02:03:03 |
Berlin |
25 SEP 2016 |
PERSONAL BEST - INDOOR
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|
PERFORMANCE |
PLACE |
DATE |
|
One Mile |
4:01.57 |
New York (MSG), NY |
03 FEB 2006 |
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2000 Metres |
4:49.99 |
Birmingham (NIA), GBR |
17 FEB 2007 |
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3000 Metres |
7:30.51 |
Stockholm |
20 FEB 2007 |
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Two Miles |
8:04.35 |
Birmingham (NIA), GBR |
16 FEB 2008 |
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5000 Metres |
12:49.60 |
Birmingham (NIA), GBR |
20 FEB 2004 |
International championships
2003, Silver in IAAF Grand Prix Final (Melbourne), 3 000 meters - 7'54"39 2006, Gold in IAAF World Athletics Final (Monaco), 3 000 meters - 7'36"98 Silver in FIFA World Cup Trophy (Athens), 3 000 meters - 7'36"25 2009, Gold in IAAF World Athletics Final (Stuttgart), 5 000 meters - 13'48"62 Gold in IAAF World Athletics Final (Thessaloniki), 3 000 meters - 8'03"79
External links
Kenenisa Bekele profile at IAAF IAAF: Focus on Athletes Media related to Kenenisa Bekele at Wikimedia Commons
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Year |
Competition |
Venue |
Position |
Event |
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Representing Ethiopia |
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1999 |
World XC Championships |
Belfast, United Kingdom |
9th |
Junior race (8.012 km) |
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World Youth Championships |
Bydgoszcz, Poland |
2nd |
3000 m |
|
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2000 |
World Junior Championships |
Santiago, Chile |
2nd |
5000 m |
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2001 |
World XC Championships |
Ostend, Belgium |
2nd |
Short race (4.1 km) |
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1st |
Junior race (7.7 km) |
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2002 |
World XC Championships |
Dublin, Ireland |
1st |
Short race (4.208 km) |
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1st |
Long race (11.998 km) |
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2003 |
World XC Championships |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
1st |
Short race (4.03 km) |
|
1st |
Long race (12.355 km) |
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World Championships in Athletics |
Paris, France |
3rd |
5000 m |
|
|
1st |
10,000 m |
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All-Africa Games |
Abuja, Nigeria |
1st |
5000 m |
|
|
2004 |
World XC Championships |
Brussels, Belgium |
1st |
Short race (4 km) |
|
1st |
Long race (12 km) |
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Olympic Games |
Athens, Greece |
2nd |
5000 m |
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|
1st |
10,000 m |
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2005 |
World XC Championships |
Saint-Galmier, France |
1st |
Short race (4.196 km) |
|
1st |
Long race (12.02 km) |
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World Championships in Athletics |
Helsinki, Finland |
1st |
10,000 m |
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2006 |
World Indoor Championships |
Moscow, Russia |
1st |
3000 m |
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World XC Championships |
Fukuoka, Japan |
1st |
Short race (4 km) |
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|
1st |
Long race (12 km) |
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African Championships |
Bambous, Mauritius |
1st |
5000 m |
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IAAF World Cup |
Athens, Greece |
2nd |
3000 m |
|
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2007 |
World XC Championships |
Mombasa, Kenya |
— |
Senior race (12 km) |
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World Championships in Athletics |
Osaka, Japan |
1st |
10,000 m |
|
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2008 |
World XC Championships |
Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
1st |
Senior race (12 km) |
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African Championships |
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
1st |
5000 m |
|
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Olympic Games |
Beijing, China |
1st |
5000 m |
|
|
1st |
10,000 m |
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2009 |
World Championships in Athletics |
Berlin, Germany |
1st |
5000 m |
|
1st |
10,000 m |
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2011 |
World Championships in Athletics |
Daegu, South Korea |
— |
10,000 m |
|
2012 |
Olympic Games |
London, United Kingdom |
4th |
10,000 m |
