Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam
Encyclopedia
Gebregziabher Gebremariam (born September 10, 1984 in Tigray
) is an Ethiopia
n long-distance runner. He is married to long-distance runner Werknesh Kidane
. He made his marathon
debut at the 2010 New York City Marathon
and won the race in a time of 2:08:14.
race. He also won the World Junior Championships in cross country running
. The following year he made his first impact on the international scene by finishing third at the 1st IAAF World Athletics Final and second at the All-Africa Games
.
In March 2004 Gebremariam showed that he had fully progressed from the junior ranks by winning two silver medal
s at the World Cross Country Championships
, one over the short course and one over the long course; in essence, were it not for his countryman Kenenisa Bekele
, he would be one of only two men ever to have claimed short and long course victories at the same Championships. He was selected for the Ethiopian Summer Olympic
5000 metres
team together with Kenenisa Bekele
and Dejene Berhanu. In the end Gebregziabher managed to finish fourth, 0.25 seconds behind Eliud Kipchoge
of Kenya.
Gebremariam finished sixth in the 10,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships
in Osaka
. In October 2008 he made his debut in the half marathon
, finishing 2nd in the 2008 Bupa Great North Run
behind Tsegaye Kebede
. He won gold
at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
.
Gebremariam began the 2009–10 IAAF cross country season with a win at the opening meeting – the Oeiras International Cross Country
, and also took victory at the Cross de Atapuerca
, Cross Internacional de Soria
and Cross Internacional de Alcobendas meetings. He finished tenth in the senior race at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
.
Heading out onto the summer athletics circuit, he ran a course record of 27:42 at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park
in May, knocking six seconds off Tadese Tola's record and beating Peter Kamais
to the line. He was victorious at the Peachtree Road Race
in June, just pipping Peter Kirui at the finish, and then won the Beach to Beacon 10K in August. He scored his second road win of the month at the Falmouth Road Race
, beating Wilson Kwambai Chebet just at the finish. Former world junior silver medallist Matthew Kisorio bested him at the Philadelphia Half Marathon, however, as the Ethiopian's time of 1:00:25 was ten seconds short of the victor. He won the 2010 New York City Marathon
on his debut over the distance with a time of 2:08:14. Among his competitors was Haile Gebrselassie
, who dropped out mid-race and later announced his retirement. Gebremariam had encouraged his compatriot to stay in the race but the veteran responded "I can't, Gebre, you have to go on". He paid his respects to the world record holder after the race, saying "Haile is a good guy, he is king. I have learned so many things from him".
He entered the New York City Half Marathon
the following March and was narrowly beaten at the line by Mo Farah. In April 2011, he finished third in the 2011 Boston Marathon
with a time of 2:04:53 hours. This was among the fastest ever times for the marathon, but it was recorded on a downhill circuit. He ran at Boston's first B.A.A. 10K
race in June and finished second behind Geoffrey Mutai
, a finish which he and Mutai repeated at the Giro di Castelbuono
a month later.
(*) Downhill and point-to-point course
Tigray Province
Tigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...
) is an Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n long-distance runner. He is married to long-distance runner Werknesh Kidane
Werknesh Kidane
Werknesh Kidane , is an Ethiopian long distance running athlete who competes in both 5000 and 10,000 metres. She has won numerous medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and represented Ethiopia at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004...
. He made his marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
debut at the 2010 New York City Marathon
2010 New York City Marathon
The 41st New York City Marathon took place on Sunday , 2010. Sponsored by ING, the competition was the fifth World Marathon Major of 2010 and an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. A record 45,344 people were entered into the race. Ethiopian runner Gebregziabher Gebremariam won the men's race in a time of...
and won the race in a time of 2:08:14.
Career
At the 2002 World Junior Championships Gebregziabher Gebremariam won the 10,000 metres and finished third in the 5000 metres5000 metres
The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
race. He also won the World Junior Championships in cross country running
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
. The following year he made his first impact on the international scene by finishing third at the 1st IAAF World Athletics Final and second at the All-Africa Games
Athletics at the 2003 All-Africa Games
-Track:-Field:-Track:-Field:-Medal table:-External links:*...
.
In March 2004 Gebremariam showed that he had fully progressed from the junior ranks by winning two silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
s at the World Cross Country Championships
2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 32nd IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 19-20 March 2004 in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
, one over the short course and one over the long course; in essence, were it not for his countryman Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...
, he would be one of only two men ever to have claimed short and long course victories at the same Championships. He was selected for the Ethiopian Summer Olympic
Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's 5,000 metres
The 5,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the athletics program were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium on August 25 and August 28....
5000 metres
5000 metres
The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
team together with Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele
Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who holds the world record and Olympic record in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres events...
and Dejene Berhanu. In the end Gebregziabher managed to finish fourth, 0.25 seconds behind Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan long distance runner who has won medals at Olympic and World level....
of Kenya.
Gebremariam finished sixth in the 10,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. In October 2008 he made his debut in the half marathon
Half marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
, finishing 2nd in the 2008 Bupa Great North Run
Great North Run
The Bupa Great North Run is the world's largest half marathon, taking place annually each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields in England. The run was devised by former Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster.The first Great...
behind Tsegaye Kebede
Tsegaye Kebede
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...
. He won gold
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the 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...
at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Al Bisharat Golf Course at Amman, Jordan on 28 March 2009. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...
.
Gebremariam began the 2009–10 IAAF cross country season with a win at the opening meeting – the Oeiras International Cross Country
Oeiras International Cross Country
The Oeiras International Cross Country is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Oeiras, Portugal...
, and also took victory at the Cross de Atapuerca
Cross de Atapuerca
The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Atapuerca, Spain. Established in 2004, it takes place in early November and is among the first major competitions of the cross country season...
, Cross Internacional de Soria
Cross Internacional de Soria
The Cross Internacional de Soria, also known as the Campo a Través Internacional de Soria, is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Soria, Spain. First held in 1994, it usually takes place in late November and gained IAAF cross country permit meeting status in 2007...
and Cross Internacional de Alcobendas meetings. He finished tenth in the senior race at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking...
.
Heading out onto the summer athletics circuit, he ran a course record of 27:42 at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
in May, knocking six seconds off Tadese Tola's record and beating Peter Kamais
Peter Kamais
Peter Kamais is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in road running events.He was the winner at the Oeiras International Cross Country and Almond Blossom Cross Country races in 2006, but it was at the Cursa de Bombers 10K where he established himself, taking consecutive wins in 2006 and...
to the line. He was victorious at the Peachtree Road Race
Peachtree Road Race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race 10K is a 10 kilometer road race held annually in Atlanta, Georgia on July 4, Independence Day. The Peachtree Road Race was until recently the world's largest 10 kilometer race , a title it has held since the late 1970s...
in June, just pipping Peter Kirui at the finish, and then won the Beach to Beacon 10K in August. He scored his second road win of the month at the Falmouth Road Race
Falmouth Road Race
The Falmouth Road Race is an annual 7-mile road race on Cape Cod from Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to Falmouth Heights.-History:...
, beating Wilson Kwambai Chebet just at the finish. Former world junior silver medallist Matthew Kisorio bested him at the Philadelphia Half Marathon, however, as the Ethiopian's time of 1:00:25 was ten seconds short of the victor. He won the 2010 New York City Marathon
2010 New York City Marathon
The 41st New York City Marathon took place on Sunday , 2010. Sponsored by ING, the competition was the fifth World Marathon Major of 2010 and an IAAF Gold Label Road Race. A record 45,344 people were entered into the race. Ethiopian runner Gebregziabher Gebremariam won the men's race in a time of...
on his debut over the distance with a time of 2:08:14. Among his competitors was Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon...
, who dropped out mid-race and later announced his retirement. Gebremariam had encouraged his compatriot to stay in the race but the veteran responded "I can't, Gebre, you have to go on". He paid his respects to the world record holder after the race, saying "Haile is a good guy, he is king. I have learned so many things from him".
He entered the New York City Half Marathon
New York City Half Marathon
The New York City Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running race. It passes through famous landmarks such as Central Park and Times Square. The 5th annual race took place on March 21, 2010, with 11,604 finishers and victories by Peter Kamais and Mara Yamauchi...
the following March and was narrowly beaten at the line by Mo Farah. In April 2011, he finished third in the 2011 Boston Marathon
2011 Boston Marathon
The 2011 Boston Marathon took place on Monday, April 18, 2011. Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya won the men's race in a time of 2:03:02. In recognizing Mutai's mark as the "fastest Marathon ever run", the International Association of Athletics Federations noted that the performance was not eligible for...
with a time of 2:04:53 hours. This was among the fastest ever times for the marathon, but it was recorded on a downhill circuit. He ran at Boston's first B.A.A. 10K
B.A.A. 10K
The B.A.A. 10K is an annual road running event for men and women over that takes place in June in Boston in the United States. A total of 3040 people finished the race at the inaugural edition....
race in June and finished second behind Geoffrey Mutai
Geoffrey Mutai
Geoffrey Kiprono Mutai is a Kenyan long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions...
, a finish which he and Mutai repeated at the Giro di Castelbuono
Giro di Castelbuono
The Giro di Castelbuono is an annual road running competition over 10 kilometres which takes place in Castelbuono, on the island of Sicily, Italy...
a month later.
Personal bests
| Event | Time | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3000 m | 7:39.48 | New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... , USA |
11 June 2005 |
| 5000 m 5000 metres The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event... |
12:52.80 | Rome Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... , Italy |
8 July 2005 |
| 10000 m 10000 metres The 10,000 metres or 10K is a common long distance running event. As "10,000 metres" it is a track event, and appears in athletics events such as the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics; as "10K" it is a roadrace or cross country running event... |
26:52.33 | Hengelo Hengelo Hengelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the International Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service.-Traffic and transport:... , Netherlands |
26 May 2007 |
| Half marathon Half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a... |
1:00:25 | Philadelphia, USA | 19 September 2010 |
| Marathon Marathon The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race... * |
2:04:53 | Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... , USA |
18 April 2011 |
| Marathon Marathon The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race... |
2:07:59 | New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... , USA |
6 November 2011 |
(*) Downhill and point-to-point course
- All information taken from IAAF profile.