Vénuste Niyongabo (born December 9, 1973) is a

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

an former long and

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

. In 1996, he became the first

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medalist from Burundi by winning 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 sta ...

at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He had only competed twice before in that event prior to winning the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

Biography

Born in Vugizo, in southern Burundi, Niyongabo 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, ...

in the 1500 m at the 1992 World Junior Championships and also came fourth over

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

. He competed in his first senior tournament the following year, but was eliminated in the 1500 m semi-finals of 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 ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. Niyongabo soon became one of the top 1500 m runners in the world, winning several major races in 1994 and 1995. He also won 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 receives ...

at the World Championships in

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, finishing behind

Noureddine Morceli Noureddine Morceli (, ''Nūr ud-Dīn Mursilī''; born February 28, 1970) is a retired Algerian middle-distance runner. The winner of the 1500 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Morceli won three straight gold medals at that distance at the Wor ...

and

Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj (; ; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record holder for the 1500 metres and mile, and the former world record holder in the 2000 metres. He is the only m ...

. For the 1996 Olympics, held in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Niyongabo was assumed to be a potential winner of the 1500 m, but he decided to forfeit his place to a compatriot, Dieudonné Kwizera. Kwizera had been unable to compete in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics since Burundi did not have a National Olympic Committee at the time, and was only in Atlanta as a coach. Niyongabo moved up to compete in the 5000 m event instead. The move turned out to be a good one for both athletes; Kwizera finally became an Olympian, while Niyongabo sprinted away in the last lap of the 5000 m final to win an unexpected gold medal. He also is the eighth fastest miler ever, putting him behind only

Noah Ngeny Noah Kiprono Ngeny (born 2 November 1978) is a Kenyan former athlete, Olympic gold medalist at 1500 m at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and world record holder in the 1000 m. He also ran the second-fastest mile ever. Career Noah was born in the ...

Jakob Ingebrigtsen Jakob Asserson Ingebrigtsen (born 19 September 2000) is a Norwegian Middle-distance running, middle- and Long-distance running, long-distance runner who is the world record holder in the short track 1500 metres, short track Mile run, mile, 2000 ...

, Yared Nuguse,

Steve Cram Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle-distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arro ...

and

Daniel Komen Daniel Kipngetich Komen (born 17 May 1976) Komen is rumoured to be three years older than officially recognised. is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, his most notable achievements ...

. After the Olympics, Niyongabo struggled with several injuries, and never achieved the same level of competition again. His attempt to defend his title at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

failed, placing only 15th in his semi-final heat. Niyongabo worked for the Ekin division of

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. (stylized as ''NIKE'') is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, ...

in Italy. He ran on the elite Nike Bowerman International team in the

Hood to Coast Relay Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

in 2005, which finished second in a field of 1062 teams. Venuste is today a member of the ‘Champions for Peace’ club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by

Peace and Sport Peace and Sport (also known as "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport") is a sports organization based in Monaco under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Ivorian Football player, footballer Didier Drogba became the organization's ...

, a

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

-based international organization.Peace and Sport
/ref> In October 2010, he sponsored the very first "Friendship Games" which took place in the Great Lakes region of Africa: a day of trans-border sports competitions to promote peace and unite young people from

and the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC) around the values of friendship and fraternity offered by sport.

References

External links

"Burundi's First Olympics End With a Gold Medal"
''New York Times'', August 4, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Niyongabo, Venuste 1973 births Living people People from Makamba Province Tutsi people Burundian male middle-distance runners Burundian male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Burundi Olympic gold medalists for Burundi World Athletics Championships athletes for Burundi Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships medalists Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) 20th-century Burundian people 21st-century Burundian people