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ETHIOPIA ETHIOPIAN SPORTS : ATHLETICS

Ethiopian Sports : Athletics News & History

Athletics News:

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Athletics: Haile: Under 2 Weeks, Under 2:04?
Runners Web 8 Jan 2008 - 02:32 GMT

Three Parts documentary on Haile G/selassie :CNN Video

Berhane Adere collapses briefly after victory : 08th Oct 2007

Gebrselassie Sets Marathon Record. : 30th Sept 2007.

Meseret Defar World best for Two Miles : 16th Sept 2007.

Ethiopia's Defar wins first world 5,000 title : 1st Sept 2007.

Ethiopia's Bekele adds to aura with third world 10,000m crown : 27th August 2007.

Dibaba’s dramatic defence : 25th August 2007.

Gebrselassie wins NYC Half Marathon : 5th August 2007.

Gebrselassie lights up the day for Ethiopian orphans : 17th July 2007.

Historical Athletics News/Facts:

Abebe Bikila (1932-1973)
Rome 1960 Olympics, Athletics marathon Men: Gold
Tokyo 1964 Olympics, Athletics marathon Men: Gold

Mamo Wolde honoured in Spain : 16th September 2003.
Mamo Wolde (1931-2002)
Mexico 1968 Olympics, Athletics 10000m Men: Silver
Mexico 1968 Olympics, Athletics marathon Men: Gold
Munich 1972 Olympics, Athletics marathon Men: Bronze

Mirtus YIFTER Born15 May 1944
Munich 1972 Olympics, Athletics 10000m Men: Bronze
Moscow 1980 Olympics, Athletics 10000m Men: Gold
Moscow 1980 Olympics, Athletics 5000m Men: Gold

Ethiopian Athletics History:

Ethiopia has an extremely rich and long tradition of athletics in Africa. The country has produced a bunch of world class athletes. These athletes have won a number of medals at the Olympics and at various World Championships. Ethiopia first caught the attention of the world and made apparent it’s great athletic potential during the Rome Olympic Games in 1960, when a previously unknown runner named Abebe Bikila won the gold medal in the men’s marathon race—a race he ran barefoot. Bikila not only shattered the previous world record, he was the first athlete from Africa to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

Abebe won his second gold medal in the marathon four years later in Tokyo. This made him the first athlete to win back-to-back gold medals in the marathon, and he won the race just two weeks after him having surgery. At the Olympics in Mexico in 1968, Bikila, who was favored to win his third consecutive medal, had to drop out of the race after 10 miles. He dropped out because he had a fractured bone in his left leg. Thankfully, his fellow Ethiopian teammate, Mamo Wolde, picked up the race where his teammate left off, and went on to win Ethiopia’s third gold medal in the marathon.

Abebe Bikila and Mamo Wolde dominated the 1960s and helped established Ethiopia’s name as a major competitor in the middle and long distance runs. The 1970s and 1980s saw Miruts "The Shifter" Yifter, an amazing runner who went on to win gold medals in the five thousand and ten thousand meters at the Olympics in Moscow in 1980. In the 1990s the world witnessed the emergence of Haile Gebreselassie. Gebreselassie was the multi-talented and very gifted athlete who shattered the world’s five thousand and ten thousand meter race records in the same year. Gebreselassie also won a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The last few years have also seen a tremendous surge in women athletes’ participation. This is mainly because of the successes of Derartu Tulu. Derartu Tutu was the winner of the ten thousand meters run at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Fatuma Roba became the first African woman to win a gold medal in the marathon at the 1996 Atlanta Games and Gete Wami, won the silver medal in the 10,000 meter run in Atlanta.

In spite of its lack of trained manpower and adequate training facilities, Ethiopia continues to produce amazing athletes. With a population of 74.2 million people, it is the third most populated nation in Africa. With forty six percent of its population under the age of 14, the country has plenty of future athletes.

The Ethiopian Athletics Federation, which receives some annual support from the Ethiopian government, has also begun to shift its attention towards the younger athletes. As a result, more and more of the country’s top young athletes have begun to take part in various international youth competitions. This will surely expand their horizons and potential.

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