Fita Bayisa (

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: ፊጣ ባይሳ; born December 15, 1972 in Ambo,

Oromia 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 Be ...

) is an Ethiopian long-distance

runner 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 ...

, most known for winning a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receiv ...

on the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a s ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. A year before he had won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

at the World Championships in Tokyo. Before the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Bayisa had emerged as the favourite for

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 ...

, as he had defeated a world-class field at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bisl ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in a time of 27:14.26 min. However, he failed to make an impact on the 10,000 m final, which was won by

Khalid Skah Khalid Skah ( ar, خالد سكاح) (born 29 January 1967) is a Moroccan track and field athlete, winner of the 10,000 metres at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Born in Midelt, Morocco, Skah established himself first as a good cross country runner ...

. Among his other achievements, he was the winner of the 1999 Belgrade Race Through History. He beat

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

by a second in the unusual race across

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

's city fortress.Butcher, Pat (1999-10-13)
Fita Bayissa wins Belgrade Race Through History

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 fo ...

. Retrieved on 2009-10-15.

Personal bests

*1500 metres - 3:35.35 (1999) *3000 metres - 7:35.32 (1996) *5000 metres - 13:05.40 (1993) *10,000 metres - 27:14.26 (1992) *8 kilometres - 22:22 (2000) *5 miles road - 22:29 (2000)

Achievements

References

External links

*
1972 births Living people Ethiopian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Ethiopia Olympic athletes of Ethiopia World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games gold medalists for Ethiopia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1991 All-Africa Games {{Africa-Olympic-medalist-stub