Contents
Kenenisa Bekele
Winning Olympic distance golds and eleven senior world cross-country titles.
Eleven cross-country titles · Olympic double
- Born
- 13 June 1982
- Birthplace
- Bekoji, Ethiopia
More people
Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian runner whose success spans cross country, track racing and the marathon.
Early life
Farming family
Grew up in Bekoji, where his parents farmed barley.
School encouragement
A PE teacher encouraged his running; he drew inspiration from Derartu Tulu and Haile Gebrselassie.
Career
- 2001–2003
International breakthrough
Won junior cross-country gold before becoming a senior world champion.
- 2004–2009
Track dominance
Set world records and won Olympic and world distance doubles.
- 2014 onward
Marathons
Won his debut in Paris and later won twice in Berlin.
Achievements
Eleven cross-country titles
Won six long-course and five short-course senior world titles.
Olympic double
Won the 5,000m and 10,000m in Beijing.
Berlin Marathon
Won in 2:01:41, two seconds outside the world record then.
Beyond athletics
Family sport
His younger brother Tariku also became an international distance runner.
Family
Married actor Danawit Gebregziabher in 2007.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Ian Robertson. CC BY 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
