Full Name: Kenenisa Bekele Beyecha
Profession: Long-Distance Runner
Biography: Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who held the records in 5,000-metre from 2004 and 10,000-metre from 2005 until 2020. He won gold in the 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Bekele is particularly noted for his performance at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, having won the long (12km) title six times and short (4km) title five times. He is the most successful athlete in the history of this competition.
He has had successes across track, cross country, and road racing. His performance in the 2019 Berlin Marathon was only two seconds slower than the world record at the time, which was held by Eliud Kipchoge.
Born: June 13, 1982
Birthplace: Bekoji, Ethiopia
Age: 42 years old
Generation: Millennial
Chinese Zodiac: Dog
Star Sign: Gemini
Historical Events
- 2004-08-20 Ethiopian runners Kenenisa Bekele (27:05.10 OR) and Sileshi Sihine go 1-2 in the 10,000m at the Athens Olympics
- 2008-08-23 Ethiopian distance runner Kenenisa Bekele wraps up the 5,000/10,000m double at the Beijing Olympics when he takes gold in the 5k in an Olympic record 12:57.82
- 2020-08-14 Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda breaks Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-old 5,000m world record with a run of 12:35.36 at the Diamond League meet in Monaco
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Jim Hines
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