Bekele Debele
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Bekele Debele (born 12 March 1963) is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who specialised in
cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...
. His greatest achievement was winning the gold medal at the 1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, becoming only the second African man to do so. During his career he was selected for Ethiopia at every edition of the
IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...
from 1982 to 1989. He helped win the junior team title in 1982 and shared in the senior team medals from 1983 to 1989, including a three-year undefeated streak for the Ethiopian senior team from 1983 to 1985. He also competed in the
10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...
and represented Ethiopia in that event at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics. He was the bronze medallist on the track at the
Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many differ ...
, having missed the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
due to Ethiopia's boycott of the games.


Career


Early life

Bekele was born into an
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
family of rural farmers in Shewa and was raised alongside his two brothers and two sisters. He was illiterate for much of his young life. Due to his talent for
running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
he was brought into the national military sports programme, which was typical during the reign of the Derg. There he received a basic education and proper training for long-distance running. Over his career, Bekele was coached by Roba Negussie,Mora, Juan (1984-01-28)
Bekele Debele, el meior 'hombrecillo verde'
''
El Pais EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...
''. Retrieved on 2013-08-26.
a former Olympic sprinter and top Ethiopian coach who served as coach for Ethiopia's Olympic long-distance running team. Bekele made his global debut at the
1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Rome, Italy, at the Ippodromo delle Capannelle on March 21, 1982. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald. Complete results for men, junior men, women, medallis ...
. Running in the junior race, he placed tenth and was part of the winning Ethiopian team.


World cross country titles

He won the San Blas Half Marathon at the start of 1983 with a time of 1:04:40 hours. He emerged as a top level runner shortly afterwards at the 1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, narrowly defeating both
Carlos Lopes Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH (, born 18 February 1947) is a Portuguese former long-distance runner. He won the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming Portugal's first Olympic gold medalist and setting an Olym ...
and
Some Muge Some Muge (1959–1997) was a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is best known for winning Kenya's first medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in internati ...
to become the world champion and take the team gold medal with Ethiopia. All three athletes recorded the same time in the closest ever finish at the competition. He became the second African man to win the title after
Mohamed Kedir Mohamed Kedir (Amharic: ሞሐመድ ከድር; born September 18, 1954) is a former long-distance runner from Ethiopia, who won the bronze medal in men's 10,000 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics. In the 5000 metres final, Kedir still led with ...
, who won the previous year. Later that year he competed in the
10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The ra ...
at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Athletics. He ran a personal best of 27:49.30 minutes in the heats, but was a little slower in the final and placed tenth, just behind his team mate Kedir. Bekele returned to defend his title at the 1984 IAAF World Cross Country Championships but was beaten on that occasion, placing eighth overall. However, he still led the Ethiopians to the team title. He won the prestigious
Cinque Mulini The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills along Olona river, which lend the competition its name – meaning ' ...
race the following month. He hoped to compete at the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
, but a Soviet-led boycott of the event meant Ethiopia did not send a team there. The eastern bloc countries that boycotted the games set up their own competition instead and Bekele took the 10,000 m bronze medal at the
Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many differ ...
. He ended the year with a win at the
São Silvestre de Luanda SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...
10K event. At the
1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Sports Complex of Jamor on March 24, 1985. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald. Complete results for men, junior men, women, medall ...
he placed fourth behind fellow Ethiopian
Wodajo Bulti Wodajo Bulti (born 11 March 1957) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialized in the 5000 metres, 10000 metres and cross-country running. Career Wodajo was one of the most significant Ethiopian middle and long-distance runners ...
and helped successfully defend the men's team title. He also continued to compete on the track an took a victory at
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
's Brothers Znamensky Memorial meet. He repeated his fourth-place finish at the
1986 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1986 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Colombier, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, at the Planeyse Colombier on March 23, 1986. A report on the event was given in the Glasgow Herald and in the Evening Times. Complete results ...
. Even though his team mate
Abebe Mekonnen Abebe Mekonnen (born 16 October 1964) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. Mekkonen was the winner of the 93rd Boston Marathon in 1989. He also competed for Ethiopia in the 1992 Olympics and 1996 Olympics in the marathon. He did not finish ...
was runner-up, the Ethiopian team was outclassed by a strong Kenyan squad, including winner
John Ngugi John Ngugi Kamau (born 10 May 1962), is a former Kenyan long-distance runner, often called one of the greatest cross country runners of all time and winner of the 5000 metres at the 1988 Summer Olympics, in Seoul South Korea. Career Born in Kigu ...
, and was relegated to second in the team rankings.


Decline

The 1987 edition saw him fare poorly, finishing in 45th place, but he still reached the team podium as Ethiopia took third place. His worst international performance came at the
1988 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 1988 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held in Auckland, New Zealand, at the Ellerslie Racecourse on March 26, 1988. A report on the event was given in the ''Glasgow Herald''. Complete results for men, junior men, women, meda ...
: he ended up 83rd overall and finished almost three minutes after world champion Ngugi. He was the slowest competitor in Ethiopia's silver medal-winning team. At the 1988
Cross de San Sebastián The Cross Internacional de San Sebastián, also known as the ''Cross Internacional de Donostia'', is an annual cross country running event which is staged in late January in San Sebastián, Spain. The competition was first held in 1956 as a men's ...
Bekele fought against John Ngugi in a sprint finish, but ended the race as runner-up behind the reigning world champion. This represented a brief improvement of form for what would be his final international outing at the 1989 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. At that event held in Stavanger he finished thirteenth and, alongside Tesfaye Tafa, he lifted Ethiopia into third place in the team competition.Stavanger Scanvest Date: Sunday, March 19, 1989
Athchamps (archived). Retrieved on 2013-08-26.


Notes

In an interview with ''
El Pais EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...
'' in 1984 Bekele stated (through an interpreter) that his date of birth was 12 April 1962, rather than 12 March 1963 which is found in most other sources.


References


External links

*
Video of 1983 World Cross Country Championships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Debele, Bekele Living people 1963 births Ethiopian male long-distance runners World Athletics Cross Country Championships winners World Athletics Championships athletes for Ethiopia Ethiopian male cross country runners Friendship Games medalists in athletics 20th-century Ethiopian people