Dejene Berhanu (December 12, 1980 – August 29, 2010) was a male
Ethiopian
runner, who specialized in the
5000 metres.
Berhanu finished 11th in the short race at the
2004 World Cross Country Championships and fifth in the 5000 at the
Athens Olympics. He followed that up with a pair of strong finishes at the
World Cross Country Championships the next year. Berhanu was seventh in the short race and sixth in the long race. He ran in the 5000 again at the
World Championships at Helsinki, finishing eighth.
In 2006, Berhanu turned to focus on the
marathon. He eschewed cross country for the
Rotterdam Marathon
The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded NN Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April every year since the third edition in 1984 and attracts many top athletes ...
, where he finished fourth in a time of 2:08:46. He ran the
Chicago Marathon
The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...
in the fall as a last-minute replacement for favourite
Felix Limo
Felix Limo (born 22 August 1980) is a Kenyan former long-distance runner, who specialized in the marathon.
Limo held the 15 Kilometres road running world record from November 2001 to November 2010, where he lost the record to Leonard Komon. Limo ...
. Running with the leaders through the halfway mark in a blistering 63:15, Berhanu faded after 30 km and finished ninth in a time of 2:12:27.
Death
Berhanu committed
suicide on August 29, 2010, in Ethiopia, at age 29.
[http://tsehainy.com/?p=3013]
Achievements
Personal bests
*
3000 metres – 8:06.56 (2002)
*
5000 metres – 12:54.15 (2004)
*
10,000 metres
The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...
– 27:12.22 (2005)
*
Marathon – 2:08:46 (2006)
References
*
*
marathoninfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berhanu, Dejene
1980 births
2010 deaths
Ethiopian male long-distance runners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Ethiopia
Sportspeople from Oromia Region
African Games bronze medalists for Ethiopia
African Games medalists in athletics (track and field)
Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 All-Africa Games
Suicides in Ethiopia