Gezahegne Abera
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Medal record | |||
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Gezahegne Abera |
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Men's Athletics | |||
Competitor for Ethiopia | |||
Olympic Games | |||
Gold | 2000 Sydney | Marathon | |
World Championships | |||
Gold | 2001 Edmonton | Marathon |
Gezahegne Abera (born April 23, 1978) is an Ethiopian athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Born in Etya, Arsi Province, Abera's first international competition was the 1999 Los Angeles marathon, where he finished fourth, behind of three Kenyans. That earned him a place in the Ethiopian 1999 World Championships team, where he finished eleventh.
Later in 1999 season, Abera won his first international marathon by finishing first at Fukuoka marathon. He would win this marathon on two more occasions (in 2001 and 2002). In 2000, Abera finished second in the Boston Marathon.
At the Sydney Olympics, the marathon race came down to two Ethiopians, Abera and Tesfaye Tola, and Kenyan Erick Wainaina. At the 37 km mark, Wainaina tried to make a break, but 2 km later Abera surged to lead and held the position to the finishing lane. At 22 years old, Abera was the youngest marathon champion in Olympic history.
In 2001, Abera won the World Championships by a mere second ahead of Simon Biwott from Kenya to become the first person to achieve an Olympics-World Championships marathon double.
At the 2003 World Championships, Abera had to abandon the race due to injury, but he was selected in the Ethiopian 2004 Olympic team. His wife Elfenesh Alemu was also selected to the 2004 Olympic team.
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Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Jackson Kabiga |
Fukuoka Men's Marathon Winner 1999 |
Succeeded by Atsushi Fujita |
Preceded by Atsushi Fujita |
Fukuoka Men's Marathon Winner 2001 – 2002 |
Succeeded by Tomoaki Kunichika |
Preceded by Khalid Khannouchi |
London Men's Marathon Winner 2003 |
Succeeded by Evans Rutto |
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World Champions in Men's Marathon |
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1983: Robert de Castella | 1987: Douglas Wakiihuri | 1991: Hiromi Taniguchi | 1993: Mark Plaatjes | 1995: Martín Fiz | 1997: Abel Antón | 1999: Abel Antón | 2001: Gezahegne Abera | 2003: Jaouad Gharib | 2005: Jaouad Gharib | 2007: Luke Kibet |