Siraj Amda Gena, also known as Giday Amha and Siraj Amda Bene, (born 12 November 1984) 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 mensur ...

who specialises in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , 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 are also wheelchair div ...

. He won his first race in 2010, beating all-comers at the

Rome City Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the ...

to set a personal best of 2:08:39.

Career

He began his professional career in 2005 and he set a personal best time of 2:11:26 to finish third in the

Dubai Marathon The Dubai Marathon is an annual road-based marathon hosted by Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 1998. The marathon is categorized as a Gold Label Road Race by World Athletics. History Initial era The inaugural Dubai Marathon was held ...

. He returned to the race the following year and came one place further to winning, although he would have won if Joseph Ngeny Kiprotich, initially brought in as a

pacemaker An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart eith ...

, hadn't decided to continue and finish the race instead. He competed in Asia for a second time that year and took fifth place at the

Nagano Marathon The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon ( ja, 長野オリンピック記念長野マラソン) is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Ma ...

, although he was leading the race throughout right until the 30 km mark. He failed to make much progression in the 2007 and 2008; years which were highlighted by a 13th-place finish at the

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road race has a Platinum Label from World Athletics. During the event, there a ...

and a fourth place at the Nagano Marathon, respectively. He took part in the

Frankfurt Marathon The Frankfurt Marathon (official name as of 2016: Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, until 2015: BMW Frankfurt Marathon, until 2010: Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon) is a marathon which has taken place every year in Frankfurt am Main since its inception i ...

for the first time in 2009 and although he finished in ninth position, he set a personal best of 2:10:41. Gena began to make his mark on the

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

circuit in 2010 as he began the year with a second-place finish behind Denis Ndiso at the

Mumbai Marathon The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as t ...

(an

IAAF Gold Label Road Race World Athletics Label Road Races are races that the World Athletics (until 2019: ''IAAF'') designates as one of the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of ...

). His first ever marathon win soon followed: he ran his fastest ever time (2:08:39) to gain victory at the

. The event was made more special by the fact that it was in honour of the 50th anniversary of Ethiopian

Abebe Bikila ''Shambel'' Abebe Bikila ( am, ሻምበል አበበ ቢቂላ; August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was an Ethiopian marathon runner who was a back-to-back Olympic marathon champion. He is the first Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist, winnin ...

's Olympic gold in the 1960 Rome Olympic marathon,Sampaolo, Diego (2010-03-21)
Ethiopian double as Rome celebrates Bikila – Rome Marathon report

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2010-03-22. in which he became the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal. Gena marked the occasion by removing his shoes to run

barefoot Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to ...

for the last 300 metres, mirroring the shoe-less running style of Bikila and earning a 5000

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

bonus in the process. Gena won his second marathon of 2010 in October at the

Beijing International Marathon The Beijing Marathon () is an annual marathon race held around October in Beijing, People's Republic of China, since 1981. The race begins at Tiananmen Square and finishes in Celebration Square in Olympic Green. The full marathon is the only d ...

. Cold, wet weather severely affected the race, leaving him shivering as he crossed the line in 2:15:45, but his coach (former runner Haji Adillo) said he thought Gena could run around the 2:06 mark in good conditions. He was one of the favourite for the 2011

Xiamen Marathon The Xiamen International Marathon () is an annual marathon race held in January in the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It is one of the prominent marathon races of the year. More than 50,000 runners took p ...

in January, but he finished in fifth place. He attempted to retain his title in Rome in March 2011 but had to settle for second place, thirty seconds adrift of winner Dickson Chumba. He ran a half marathon best of 1:02:36 hours at the

Göteborgsvarvet Göteborgsvarvet () is an annual half marathon running competition in Gothenburg, Sweden (often called the Gothenburg Half Marathon in English). It is the largest annual running competition in the world in terms of entries, with its 62,000 ent ...

, and the Frankfurt Marathon in October saw him improve his marathon best to 2:08:31 hours (finishing in eighth). On November 17, 2013, Gena finished second at the

Istanbul Marathon The Istanbul Marathon ( tr, İstanbul Maratonu, also known as N Kolay Istanbul Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an international athletics event hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, in November, first held in 1979. It is the only marathon in the w ...

in a time of 2:13:19 hours behind French athlete

Abraham Kiprotich Abraham Kiprotich (born 17 August 1985) is a Kenyan-French long-distance runner. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's marathon but did not finish. Born in Kenya's Nandi County, when Kiprotich was just two years old his older br ...

. He was subsequently promoted to first place following Kiprotich's disqualification for a doping offence.Istanbul Marathon history
. Istanbul Marathon. Retrieved on 2015-06-28.

Achievements

Personal bests

*All information taken from IAAF profile.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gena, Siraj Living people 1984 births Ethiopian male long-distance runners Ethiopian male marathon runners 20th-century Ethiopian people 21st-century Ethiopian people