Bekana Daba (born 29 July 1988 in Welega,

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benis ...

) is an Ethiopian

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music men ...

who specialises in the 5000 metres and marathon distances.

Biography

He was selected to compete at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics 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 federat ...

but he finished eleventh in his heat and did not make the final. He won the Carlsbad 5000 in his first ever 5 km road race, beating

Abreham Cherkos Abreham Cherkos Feleke ( Amharic: አብረሃም ቸርቆስ ፈለቀ; born 23 September 1989) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner. A former track specialist, he now competes in road running events including the marathon. He ...

in a time of 13:19. 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 finished sixth in his 5000 m heat, however he just didn't make the final, losing out to Chakir Boujattaoui. Running at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon, he set a

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

state record of 1:01:40 on the way to victory. He ran in the 2010 New York City Half Marathon and set a personal best of 1:01:23 for fourth place. He began to work towards a step up to the marathon distance at the end of the year and won at the inaugural Ethiopian Clubs Cross Country Championships as part of his preparations, defeating marathon runner

Feyisa Lilesa Feyisa Lilesa (Afaan Oromo: Fayyisaa Leellisaa; born 1 February 1990) is an Oromo long-distance runner from Ethiopia. He became the youngest man to run under 2:06 when he ran 2:05:23 in the men's marathon at the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon. He se ...

. He ran at the 2010

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded Tata Consultancy Services, TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road running, road race has a IAAF Road Race Label Eve ...

and finished in twelfth with a time of 2:14:40. He was much more successful on his second attempt at the distance as he broke the course record to win the

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wi ...

in January 2011, running a Texas state record of 2:07:04 hours to finish four minutes ahead of the competition. The mark was achieved in spite of the rainy conditions and his lead was so significant that in the final stages of the race he decided to stop at a nearby

portable toilet A portable or mobile toilet (colloquial terms: thunderbox, portaloo, porta-john or porta-potty) is any type of toilet that can be moved around, some by one person, some by mechanical equipment such as a truck and crane. Most types do not require ...

for a bathroom break. At the 2011 Chicago Marathon he ran a time of 2:07:59 hours for fourth place behind a Kenyan trio. In his first race of 2012, he failed to finish at the

Lake Biwa Marathon The was a marathon race held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. It was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-07)Tsegay takes Lake Biwa crown IAAF. Retrieved on 2010- ...

.Nakamura, Ken (2012-03-04)
With fast debut, Ndungu takes Lake Biwa title
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-04-06.

References

External links

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Profile
at GlobalAthletics {{DEFAULTSORT:Daba, Bekana 1988 births Living people Ethiopian male long-distance runners Ethiopian male marathon runners Sportspeople from Oromia Region African Games bronze medalists for Ethiopia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 All-Africa Games 21st-century Ethiopian people