June 2013 - Black Sports The Magazine

Map of
Africa
Ethiopia
Kenya
He ate one meal a day and
had to work every day to earn
around 2.50 Ethiopian birr
(U.S.=$0.30).
He began running for
pleasure as an 8 year old.
After competing at a half
marathon in Addis Ababa in
2006, an athletics coach
(Getaneh Tessema) offered
him the chance to train with
his group. He attended a
10 km time trial session with
the group in the following
days, and he beat all runners
with the exception of Deriba
Merga, who went on to win the
Great Ethiopian Run that year.
He won the Abebe Bikila
International Marathon a few
months later, effectively
resolving the visa problems
he had encountered while
trying to race overseas. His
first marathon race abroad
was the 2007 Amsterdam
Marathon. He finished eighth
with a new personal best of
2:08:16. Despite failing to
reach the podium, this
established him as among
Ethiopia’s top marathon
runners. Indeed, Haile
Gebrselassie and Deriba
Merga were the only
Ethiopians to run faster times
that year.
She won the 2013 London Marathon in 2:20:15.
Tsegaye Kebede Wordofa
Tsegaye Kebede Wordofa is an Ethiopian long-distance runner
who competes in road running events, including marathons. He
quickly rose to become a prominent distance runner after his
international debut at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2007. In his
second year of professional running, he won the Paris Marathon,
the Fukuoka Marathon. He won the marathon Bronze Medal at
the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In the 2009 season, he established himself as one of Ethiopia’s
top athletes. He came in second in the London Marathon. At his
first World Championships in Athletics, he took the Bronze Medal
in the marathon. He retained his Fukuoka Marathon Title at the
end of 2009, running the fastest ever marathon race in Japan.
He won the 2010 London Marathon, his first major marathon.
He is also the winner of the 2013 London Marathon.
Wordofa was brought up as part of a large family, the fifth child of
thirteen. His early years were marked by poverty. Living in Gerar
Ber, a town some 40 km north of Addis Ababa, he collected
firewood to sell and herded livestock to supplement his father’s
earnings, paying for his own education and the rest of his family.
Keen to establish himself,
Wordofa looked towards
obtaining a spot on the Ethiopian 2008 Olympic Team for the
marathon race. He took second place behind Patrick Makau
Musyoki at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon with a time of
59:35, a personal best. A win at the Paris Marathon in April
improved his chances of selection, as his sprint finish earned
him another personal best with 2:06:40. He finished third in the
World 10K Bangalore race the following month, setting a best of
28:10 over the distance. Haile Gebrselassie stated that he did
not intend to compete in the Beijing Olympics, meaning that
Wordofa and Merga would carry the medal hopes for Ethiopia.
With only two years of competitive running and one year of
international competition to his credit, the 21-year-old Wordofa
won the Bronze Medal in men’s marathon at the 2008 Summer
Olympics in Beijing, China, passing teammate Deriba Merga in
the last 400 meters of the race. He won the Great North Run in
October, and finished the year with a win at the Fukuoka
International Marathon. His time of 2:06:10 broke Samuel
Wanjiru’s course record, and was the fastest marathon on
Japanese soil. This raised him in the rankings to the twelfth
fastest ever marathon runner at the time.
He remained in strong form the following year. He set a new
personal best of 2:05:20 at the 2009 London Marathon, taking
second place behind Samuel Wanjiru. This elevated him into
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