Tsegaye Kebede
ETHIOPIA
BIRTHDATE:
January 15, 1987
PERSONAL BEST:
2:06:40 (Paris, 2008)
WORLD MARATHON MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:
24Aug08 Olympic Games Marathon, Beijing 3rd 2:10:00
ADDITIONAL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
06Apr08 Paris International Marathon 1st 2:06:40
21Oct07 ING Amsterdam Marathon 8th 2:08:16
10Jun07 Abebe Bikila Marathon 1st 2:15:34
CAREER NOTES:
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics the gold and silver medals had been determined before the athletes entered the stadium, but such was not the case for the bronze. Deriba Merga of Ethiopia was the third man to hit the track for the straightaway plus final lap, but 21-year-old countryman Tsegaye Kebede was just behind him closing fast.
As Merga faded, the youthful Kebede caught him on the back straight and went on to secure the bronze medal, 21 seconds ahead of Merga.
Despite his relative inexperience Kebede's medal-winning performance was not all that unexpected. He made a very strong marathon debut, running 2:15:34 at the high altitude of Addis Ababa in June, 2007 and then dropped all the way to 2:08:16, the fastest eighth place finish in history at Amsterdam in October. Then at the 2008 Paris International Marathon he not only won, but came within seven seconds of the course record, running 2:06:40.
Kebede was also involved in one of the most dramatic road race finishes of 2008. At the Ras Al Khaimah International Half-Marathon in February the race came down to the final few meters with Kebede and Kenyan Patrick Makau literally trading elbows. Makau was able to hold off Kebede by just half a step with both timed in 59:35.
Three weeks later he was fourth (1:01:45) at the Zayed International Half-Marathon in Abu Dhabi.
PERSONAL NOTES:
Kebede was born in Gerar Ber, 42 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, the fifth of 13 children. His family was exceedingly poor and Kebede struggled to get by, earning less than US $1 a day by gathering firewood and later working as a herder.
Just before his first marathon in Addis Ababa a bus he was riding on went off the road, severely injuring several passengers, but Kebede escaped with just a small leg wound and he went on to win the race.
"I am living in a dream," Kebede said when he learned he would run for Ethiopia in Beijing. "This is so big and so important for me. I did not obsess about it all my life, although I wanted to run for my country in the Olympics. I am just surprised that it has come early."
