Dejene Berhanu (December 12, 1980 – August 29, 2010) was a male

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n runner, who specialized in the

5000 metres 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 sta ...

. 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 World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the In ...

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 The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

. 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 road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

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 Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on August 29, 2010, in Ethiopia, at age 29.

Achievements

Personal bests

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 3000 m sho ...

– 8:06.56 (2002) *

– 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 ...

– 27:12.22 (2005) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), 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 ...

– 2:08:46 (2006)

References

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marathoninfo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berhanu, Dejene 1980 births 2010 deaths Ethiopian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ethiopia Athletes from Oromia African Games bronze medalists for Ethiopia African Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games athletes for Ethiopia Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 All-Africa Games Suicides in Ethiopia Deaths of competitors in athletics