Ethiopian · Bekoji, Ethiopia · Born 13 June 1982Ethiopia's most decorated male athlete — world record holder at 5,000m and 10,000m and marathon runner of extraordinary longevity.
Kenenisa Bekele was born in Bekoji, Ethiopia in 1982 and became the most decorated distance runner in history — holding world records at both 5000m and 10000m simultaneously for 16 years and winning 3 Olympic gold medals. He competed from 2000. His world records of 12:37.35 for 5000m (Brussels 2004) and 26:17.53 for 10000m (Brussels 2005) stood until Joshua Cheptegei broke them in 2020. He won Olympic gold in the 5000m and 10000m at Athens 2004 and the 10000m at Beijing 2008. He won World Championship golds in the 5000m and 10000m in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. He won the World Cross Country Championship 5 times. His marathon transition produced extraordinary results — his Berlin 2019 marathon of 2:01:41 was within 2 seconds of Eliud Kipchoge's world record at the time, run in his second marathon. He has won the Berlin Marathon (2016, 2019), London Marathon (2017) and Chicago Marathon (2020). His achilles injuries in 2010 and 2013 disrupted his track career but he returned to elite competition each time. He is widely regarded as the greatest distance track runner in athletics history.
Long-distance running dominance in 5000m and 10000m
His 26:17.53 world record for the 10,000m, set in 2005, stood until 2020.
Did You Know?How They Played
Exceptional endurance and tactical racing
Lasting Impact
One of greatest distance runners, holds world records
Career Honours
- Olympic Gold 5000m, 10000m Athens 2004
- Olympic Gold 10000m Beijing 2008
- World Champion 5000m, 10000m 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
- World Cross Country Champion 5x
- World Record 5000m (12:37.35), 10000m (26:17.53)
Ethiopian Athletes