Desta Asgedom (29 February 1972 – 1 September 1992) was an Ethiopian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who specialised in middle distance races. A world junior 800 metres champion and an All-Africa Games silver medalist, he died in the United States not long after these achievements.

Biography

Asgedom first came to prominence in 1990 with his performances at the World Junior Championships in Bulgaria, where he won a gold medal in the 800 metres and claimed a bronze medal in the 1500 metres race. In the same year he was a bronze medalist in the 800 metres at the

African Championships 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 ...

in Cairo. In 1991 he competed in the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, which were held in Tokyo. Soon after he represented Ethiopia at the

1991 All-Africa Games The 5th All-Africa Games were held from September 20 to October 1, 1991, in Cairo, Egypt. Forty-three countries participated in eighteen sports. For the first time the Games were held on a four-year cycle as planned. Egypt had hoped to use the G ...

and finished with the silver medal in the 1500 metres. He came to the United States early in 1992 to attend California's

Riverside Community College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

. In August he got an offer of a scholarship to Wayland Baptist in Texas and spent a week on campus before deciding to decline, due to the lack of a large Ethiopian community, like there was at Riverside.

Death

Asgedom was killed when on 1 September 1992 he was struck by a pickup truck driver while out running on Washington Boulevard in

Pico Rivera, California Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the ...

. He died from his injuries at Whittier Presbyterian Hospital, 25 minutes after being hit. His death was ruled a suicide by the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. The verdict from the Sheriff's Department was based on the results of an autopsy and witnesses accounts. The truck driver said that Asgedom had been standing facing traffic waiting to cross and made eye contact before he dove in front of the incoming vehicle. Two other witnesses corroborated the claim that Asgedom had jumped in front of the truck. His coach, Ted Banks, described Asgedom as a "tremendous runner" who with some more experience "had the potential to be an Olympic medal winner".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asgedom, Desta 1972 births 1992 suicides 1992 deaths Ethiopian male middle-distance runners African Games silver medalists for Ethiopia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia Ethiopian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Suicides in California Pedestrian road incident deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 All-Africa Games