Kenenisa Bekele ( om, Qananiisaa baqqalaa; am, ቀነኒሳ በቀለ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

. He was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

and

10,000 m 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 ...

events at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. At the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, he won the gold medal in the

and the silver medal in the

. He is the most successful runner in the history of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, 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 in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 (matching

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

's four in a row win streak). Kenenisa 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 The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

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 An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics *African Championships in Ath ...

titles and one

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

gold medal. He also won the

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

title at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. On 6 April 2014, he produced the sixth fastest marathon debut ever on a record-eligible course with his victory at the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon (french: Marathon de Paris) is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the marathon with the second-most finishers in the world, behind the New York City Marathon. The marathon begins along the Champs- ...

, in a course record time of 2:05:04. On 25 September 2016, Kenenisa won the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , i ...

in a time of 2:03:03, a new personal best, then the third-fastest marathon of all time. On 29 September 2019, he again won the Berlin Marathon in a time of 2:01:41, two seconds slower than the then world record of 2:01:39 set by Eliud Kipchoge in the 2018 Berlin Marathon. Considering his accomplishments in cross country, track, and road racing, many consider him to be the greatest distance runner of all time.

Career

Early life and career

Kenenisa Bekele was born in 1982 at Bekoji,

Arsi Zone Arsi ( om, Godina Arsii) is a zone in Oromia Region of Ethiopia, named after a clan of the Oromo, who inhabit in the area. Arsi is bordered on the south by Bale Zone, on the southwest by the West Arsi Zone, on the northwest by East Shewa Zone, ...

, the same town as the Dibaba sisters ( Ejegayehu, Tirunesh and Genzebe) and their cousin

Derartu Tulu Derartu Tulu NL COL ( om, Daraartuu Tulluu, Amharic: ደራርቱ ቱሉ; born 21 March 1972) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner, who competed in track, cross country running, and road running up to the marathon distance. She won 10, ...

. In March 2001, he won the IAAF World Junior Cross Country title by a full 33 seconds. Five months later, in August 2001, he set a new

world junior record by running 7:30.67 minutes in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. The record lasted for three and a half years, being broken by

Augustine Choge Augustine Kiprono Choge (born 21 January 1987) is a Kenyan middle distance and long distance runner. He won world youth and junior titles on the track in 2003 and 2004, eventually going on to set a world junior record for the ...

with a run of 7:28.78 minutes. In December 2000 and 2001 Kenenisa won the 15k roadrace Montferland Run in the Netherlands.Kenenisa Bekele
. World Athletics. Retrieved 2 March 2020. For five years in a row, from 2002 (at the age of 19) through 2006, he took both short (4 k m) and long (12 k m) races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, a feat no other runner has accomplished even once. After the IAAF eliminated the short course race in 2007, Kenenisa won a final long course race in 2008, bringing his World Cross Country medal totals to 11 senior individual gold medals (6 long course, 5 short course), 1 senior silver medal (2001), 1 junior gold medal (2001), 2 team gold medals (2004, 2005), 3 team silver medals (2002, 2003, & 2008), and 1 team bronze medal (2006) for a grand total of 19 medals. Kenenisa is renowned for his ability to accelerate very quickly at the end of a long-distance race; in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in June 2003, he chased after

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Abraham Chebii Abraham Kosgei Chebii (born 23 December 1979 in Kaptabuk, Marakwet District) is a former Kenyan runner who specialized in the 5000 metres. His personal best time is 12:52.99 minutes, achieved in June 2003 in Oslo. Career He represented Kenya at ...

and won the race in 12:52.26. He has faced fellow Ethiopian,

, 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 The Great Ethiopian Run ( am, ታላቁ ሩጫ በኢትዮጵያ) is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Overview The competition was first envisioned by neighbors Ethiopian runn ...

10 km, and the

Cross de l'Acier The Cross de l'Acier ( en, Cross of Steel) was an annual cross country running competition held in late November in Leffrinckoucke, France. First held in 1990, it was one of the foremost competitions of its type in France. Ten races were held at ...

in December 2001, but lost to Kenenisa in

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. ...

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 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

(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 A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

in September 2013 (60:09 to 60:41). Kenenisa's outstanding track career led to his involvement in a project to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon, though a number of factors undermined this effort.

2004 season

In 2004, he broke the world records for the indoor 5000 m, outdoor 5000 m and outdoor 10,000 m (both in a timeframe of 9 days). He won the short and long course world cross country titles, leading Ethiopia to the senior men's team title. He also won a gold medal in the men's 10,000 metres and a silver medal in the men's 5000 metres in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

2005 season

On 4 January 2005, Kenenisa's fiancée, 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 An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

was performed, Alem and his manager,

Jos Hermens Josephus ("Jos") Maria Melchior Hermens (born 8 January 1950 in Nijmegen, Gelderland) is a former Dutch long-distance runner. Subsequently, he also became well-known for his later career as a sports manager as the founder and CEO of Global ...

, later said that an autopsy had revealed nothing conclusive about Techale's death. She was the 2003 World Youth Champion in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

and in excellent physical condition. Kenenisa Bekele - Smiling

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. A few weeks later he lost to fellow Ethiopian

Markos Geneti Markos Geneti (born May 30, 1984 in Gute, Oromia Region) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who previously competed in track running, but now is a road specialist. Biography He won the 3000 metres title at the 2001 World Youth Championships in ...

over two miles. In March, Kenenisa lined up to defend his long and short course titles at the

2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 19/20, 2005. The races were held at the Hippodrome Joseph Desjoyaux in Saint-Galmier near Saint-Étienne, France. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', i ...

. He won on the short course despite a fast pace set by

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

i Saif Saaeed Shaheen, and followed that win with a long course victory the next day over

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...

n Zersenay Tadese and Kenyan rival Eliud Kipchoge. On 8 August 2005, Kenenisa Bekele won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

in the 10,000 m at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki with a stunning last

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

spurt. On 26 August 2005, Kenenisa set the 10,000 m world record 26:17.53 at the 29th Memorial Van Damme meeting in

, 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. The race saw 6 runners finishing in less than 27 minutes, with Sammy Wanjiru dipping in 26:41.75, a new world junior record. At the end of 2005 Kenenisa was voted the'' Track & Field News'' magazine athlete of the year for the second year in a row.

2006–2007

When Kenenisa won the 3000 m at the

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olimpiyski Sport arena. The announcement by the I ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, 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 The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize, ...

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 Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, with a time of 4:49.99. His spectacular final 300 m aided this time which would be considered excellent even outdoors. 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 The 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2007. The races were held at the Mombasa Golf Course in Mombasa, Kenya. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races enco ...

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

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-metre title at the

2007 IAAF World Championships The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member feder ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, once again besting his compatriot

Sileshi Sihine Sileshi Sihine (Amharic: ስለሺ ስህኔ; born January 29, 1983 in Sheno) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner. Sileshi won silver medals in the 10,000 metres at both the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as ...

. 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.

Beijing Olympics and Berlin World Championships

In Edinburgh on 30 March 2008, he 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 Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

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 10,000m 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 his 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 53.02-second final 400-metre sprint he used to win the gold medal in Athens in 2004 over the same distance).BBC Sports http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/athletics/latest_results/default.stm On 23 August 2008 Kenenisa bested his competitors and won the 5000-metre finals, shattering

Saïd Aouita Saïd Aouita ( ar, سعيد عويطة; born November 2, 1959) is a former Moroccan track and field athlete. He is the only athlete in history to have won a medal in each of the 800 meters and 5000 meters at the Olympic games. He won the 5000 mete ...

's Olympic Record by almost eight seconds with a time of 12:57.82. The race was remarkable for his 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 (=3:58.4 final mile) and his final lap a punishing 53.87 seconds.- By winning the 10,000/5000m double in the Beijing Olympics, Kenenisa joined another elite group of athletes:

Hannes Kolehmainen Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen (; 9 December 1889 – 11 January 1966) was a Finnish four-time Olympic Gold medalist and a world record holder in middle- and long-distance running. He was the first in a generation of great Finnish long-dista ...

(1912),

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final me ...

(1952),

Vladimir Kuts Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts ( uk, Володимир Петрович Куц, russian: Владимир Петрович Куц, 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a Soviet long-distance runner. He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 ...

(1956),

Lasse Virén Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the " Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, ...

(twice, in 1972 and 1976) and Miruts Yifter (1980). Kenenisa Bekele won two gold medals at the

, held in Berlin. His double victories in 5000m (13:17.09) and 10,000m (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. His talent combination of endurance and speed has made it nearly impossible to defeat Kenenisa when he is at full strength. During the 10,000m race in which he 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 turned an ostensibly close race into a blowout. The IAAF announcer concluded, "this man is probably the greatest distance runner we will ever see." In spite of his unrivalled success in athletics, Kenenisa 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 The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. Fellow

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

stated that Kenenisa Bekele's achievements had not received the recognition that they deserved.

Injuries

Kenenisa made a disappointing start to 2010, 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. He spent the entirety of the indoor and outdoor seasons out with a ruptured calf muscle.

2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics

Kenenisa Bekele finally returned to training after a knee injury in March 2011. Having not raced on the track since 2009, Kenenisa returned for the World Championships. He dropped out of the 10,000m with 10 laps remaining. Kenenisa decided not to run the 5000 m and 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. Kenenisa's 2012 season did not start well, as he was a lowly eleventh place at the Edinburgh Cross Country. In April, he appeared to have returned to form by winning the

Great Ireland Run The Great Ireland Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition which is held in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in mid-April. It is part of the Great Run series of athletics competitions. It is sponsored by SPAR and features both an elit ...

in a new personal best time for a 10 km road race of 27:49, improving the course record by 46 seconds. In the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

10,000m race he ran within the leading group for the whole race, but could not keep up with the

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

's sprint in the last 150 metres and eventually finished fourth, with a time of 27:32.44, just 1.01 second outside the bronze medalist, his brother Tariku. In his first race of 2013 he won the Great Ireland Run for a second time. Kenenisa then won the Great North Run half marathon in a time of 60:09, beating Mo Farah by just one second after making a move that Farah couldn't match with just less than 12 miles gone.

Marathon career

Kenenisa Bekele 2014 Paris Marathon t084500

;2014 Kenenisa Bekele started his marathon career in the 2014 Paris Marathon on 6 April 2014. His marathon debut was very successful as he bettered both the Paris course record and the debut marathon times of past legends Haile Gebrselassie, Paul Tergat and Samuel Wanjiru by running 2:05:04 to win. Kenenisa then went on to compete in the

2014 Chicago Marathon The 2014 Chicago Marathon was the 37th edition of the Chicago Marathon, held in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, October 12. Eliud Kipchoge won the men's race in a time of 2:04:11 hours, with a winning margin of seventeen seconds. Mare Dibaba won t ...

on 12 October 2014. He finished fourth in 2:05:51, 1min 40s behind Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge. ;2015 On 23 January 2015, Kenenisa Bekele took on the Dubai Marathon, where he had to retire from the race after 30 km. He was planned to compete in the

2015 London Marathon The 2015 London Marathon was the 35th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 26 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Ethiopian Tigist Tufa. The ...

but had to withdraw due to a persistent injury to his right

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ...

. Following 11 months of injury, Kenenisa returned to racing at the 2016 London Marathon. Prior to the race he indicated he was only currently at 90% fitness. Kenenisa finished in 3rd place behind winner Eliud Kipchoge and runner-up

Stanley Biwott Stanley Kipleting Biwott (born 21 April 1986) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon races. He won the 2012 Paris Marathon in a course record time of 2:05:11 hours and the 2015 New York City Marathon. His ha ...

in a time of 2:06:36. This performance was despite the fact he only returned to jogging in early 2016 following injury and had only completed 6 weeks of specific marathon training. He was also hampered in the race by missing his drinks at 5 separate stations, due to them being used by the designated pacemakers. ;2016: Berlin Marathon win On 24 April, he placed third at the 2016 London Marathon with a time of two hours six minutes and 38 seconds. In September he won the

2016 Berlin Marathon The 2016 Berlin Marathon was the 43rd edition of the Berlin Marathon. The marathon took place in Berlin, Germany, on 25 September 2016 and was the fourth World Marathon Majors race of the year. The men's race was won by Kenenisa Bekele in 2 hou ...

in a time of 2:03:03 which set a new personal best time for him at the

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

distance and the second fastest marathon of all time. ;2017 On 19 January 2017, attempting to break the world record, Kenenisa dropped out of the Dubai Marathon after the half way mark due to a fall at the beginning of the race. On 23 April 2017, Kenenisa finished second in the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

, finishing in 2:05:57, 9 seconds behind winner

Daniel Wanjiru Daniel Kinyua Wanjiru (born 26 May 1992) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He won both the 2016 Amsterdam Marathon and the 2017 London Marathon. His personal best time for the marathon is 2:05:21, set in Amsterdam in 2016. Early life Wanji ...

. ;2018 Kenenisa ran the 2018 London Marathon in April and came in sixth place with a time of 2:08:53. He also ran the Amsterdam marathon in October 2018 but dropped out due to injury with about 2 km to go. ;2019: Berlin Marathon win Kenenisa won the 2019 Berlin Marathon in September in 2:01:41, the second fastest time ever and just two seconds off of the world record set by Eliud Kipchoge on the same course the previous year. After the run he stated that he still believes that he can break the world record. ;2020 Kenenisa won the London half marathon on 1 March 2020 in 60:22. He improved on the course record set by

in 2019 by 1:18. Chris Thompson came in second with 61:07, also within the former course record. ;2021 Kenenisa Bekele returned to the

in September, where he placed third in 2:06:47. The race was won by his compatriot

Guye Adola Guye Adola Idemo (born 20 October 1990) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the half marathon. Born in Adola in Ethiopia's Oromiya Region, he began training with Gianni Demadonna's group and came to prominence in 2014. His f ...

in 2:05:45, while Kenya's Bethwel Yegon finished second. In November, he finished six at the 2021 New York City Marathon with a time of 2:12:52. ;2022 In September, he placed third at the Great North Run half marathon in a time of 1:01:01. The next month, Kenenisa competed in the 2022 London Marathon, finishing fifth in 2:05:53 to set a masters world record in age 40 group.

Personal life

On 18 November 2007, Kenenisa married Ethiopian film actress Danawit Gebregziabher in Addis Ababa. Kenenisa has one younger brother,

Tariku Bekele Tariku Bekele (Amharic: ታሪኩ በቀለ; born 28 February 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres and has moved up to 10000 metres as well. He is the younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele. He ...

, who is also an accomplished world-class distance runner.

Statistics

Personal bests

Yearly progression

Competition record

International competitions

*Note: XC stands for cross country

Marathons

World Grand Prix Finals

World Marathon Majors results timeline

Circuit honours

jackpot winner: 2006, 2009 *

Montferland Run Pfixx Solar Montferland Run is an annual 15-kilometres road running competition held in 's-Heerenberg, Montferland, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1996 and typically takes place on the first Sunday in December. Unlike many elite level road ...

15K: 2000, 2001 * Giro al Sas 11K: 2001 *

Memorial Peppe Greco The Memorial Peppe Greco is an annual men's 10 kilometres road race which takes place in Scicli, Italy. Also known as the Scicli 10km, the race was created in 1990 by Giovanni Voi. The course consists of ten one-kilometre laps on the streets of ...

10K: 2003 ;Cross country wins * Tilburg Warandeloop: 2000 *

Cinque Mulini The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills along Olona river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ...

: 2002 * Lotto Cross Cup Brussels: 2002 *

Oeiras International Cross Country The Oeiras International Cross Country (''Portuguese: Crosse Internacional de Oeiras'') is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Oeiras, Portugal. Established in 2000, it is usually held in mid-November and is traditional ...

: 2002, 2003 *

Campaccio The Campaccio is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in early January in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy. Organised by the ''Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese'' (Sangiorgese Sports Association), the event attracts participation f ...

: 2002, 2004 *

Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza The Juan Muguerza Cross-Country, also known as the ''Elgoibar Cross-Country'', is an annual cross country running competition which takes place each January in Elgoibar, the Basque Country, Spain. It is named as a memorial of local runner Juan Mu ...

: 2003 *

Trofeo Alasport The Trofeo Alasport, also known as the Cross di Alà dei Sardi, is an annual cross country running competition which takes place in March in Alà dei Sardi on the Italian island of Sardinia. Unusually for a high-profile cross country event, it has ...

: 2003 *

Cross Internacional de Itálica The Cross Internacional de Itálica is an annual cross country running competition that is held every January in Santiponce, near Seville, Spain. Inaugurated in 1982, the race course is set in the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Itálica. As ...

: 2003, 2004, 2007 *

Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños The Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños is a cross country running competition that takes place in Venta de Baños, Castile and León, Spain. The competition was first held in 1980 and since then it has been held every year in mid-December. Amon ...

: 2004 *

Great Edinburgh International Cross Country The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country was an annual cross country running competition that took place every January in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and was held along ...

: 2006, 2007, 2008

Awards

* IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2004, 2005 *

Track & Field News Athlete of the Year The ''Track & Field News'' Athlete of the Year award is given to track and field athletes by ''Track & Field News'' magazine, an American sports magazine. A panel of international track and field experts organized by the magazine selects the winn ...

: 2004, 2005 *

Ethiopian Person of the Year Ethiopian Person of the Year is an annual issue of the Ethiopian news portal Jimma Times, formerly the private ''Yeroo'' newspaper, which names and profiles the person(s) who was (were) the most influential and had the most impact on the Ethiopian ...

: 2007/2008

References

External links

*
IAAF: Focus on Athletes
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bekele, Kenenisa 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Oromia Region Oromo people Ethiopian male long-distance runners Ethiopian male marathon runners Olympic athletes of Ethiopia Olympic gold medalists for Ethiopia Olympic silver medalists for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners Berlin Marathon male winners Paris Marathon male winners Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games gold medalists for Ethiopia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics indoor record holders IAAF Golden League winners Track & Field News Athlete of the Year winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 All-Africa Games World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Championships winners IAAF World Athletics Final winners