Ethiopian express joy over Bekele’s ‘unforgettable victory’

August 24th, 2009 | EthioPolitics.com |

Kenenisa Bekele

Ethiopians on Sunday expressed happiness over the victory of Kenenisa Bekele, who won un unprecedented second gold at the world athletics championship in Berlin, Germany.

Following his second gold victory at the 5,000 metres, Ethiopian Television (ETV) and radio gave wide coverage to Bekele’s victory.

Bekele who also won gold in the10, 000 metres at the championship is the only athlete who brought two gold medals for the country.

“This is an unforgettable victory for Ethiopia and for Bekele himself. We are proud of him. He is the greatest ever athlete,” said Solomon Teka after watching the race live on ETV.

His victory makes Ethiopia to end up in 7th place on the world medal table.

However, Ethiopians are still expressing their disappointment over their failure in the women’s 5,000 metre and 10, 0000 metre, which was taken by Kenya after a long period of Ethiopian dominance.

“I have no word to express my appreciation for athlete Kenenisa Bekele. He is born to run and make history,” said Teshome Lakew.

Bekele won two gold medals with records at the Beijing Olympics both in the 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre race.

The world media continues to give wide coverage to Bekele’s victory, who will again run in a week’s time for his golden league race, which will lead him to get $1 million.

If Bekele is lucky to win the remaining two races in Germany and Brussels, he will get the $1 million prize.

Bekele is a triple Olympic champion and has won the 10 kilometre race in record four times at the world championships. Over the years, he has also won gold in the shorter 1,500 and 3,000 metre races. His greatness has not been limited on the track however, as Kenenisa is also the most accomplished runner in the history of IAAF World Cross Country Championships by winning six long and short XC courses.

The 27-year old Kenenisa, who won gold in the 10,000 metres on Tuesday this week over Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadese, was being compared with the Jamaican great sprinter Usain Bolt for the title of the greatest athlete in history. Both Kenenisa and Bolt have now won two individual gold medals in Berlin but the western media’s better portrayal of the Jamaican sprinter has created new debate about which of the two legends should be crowned the greatest athlete of all time.

APA