Kenenisa Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and was the world record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10000-metre from 2004 (5,000m) and 2005 (10,000m) until 2020. He won the gold medal in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics, he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5000 m.
The men's 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 28.
Zersenay Tadese is an Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Athens Olympics made him the first ever Eritrean Olympic medallist, and his 20-km title at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships also made him the country's first athlete to win at a world championship event. He does not use a sprint finish to win races; his strategy relies on a combination of efficient running and fast pace setting.
Augustine Kiprono Choge is a Kenyan middle distance and long distance runner.
Eliud Kipchoge is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly competed at the 5000 metre distance. He is the 2016 and 2020 Olympic marathon winner. In addition, he set the world record in the marathon with a time of 2:01:39 at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. His run broke the previous world record by 1 minute and 18 seconds. He has been described as "the greatest marathoner of the modern era."
Kaptagat is a village near 25 kilometres east of Eldoret along the B54 Road in the former Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It is located near the edge of the Great Rift Valley just to the southeast of the village of Chepkorio. Administratively, it is a location in Ainabkoi division of Uasin Gishu County. Its local authority is Wareng County Council and constituency is Ainabkoi Constituency. Although geographically, Kaptagat lies both in the Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo-Marakwet Countys. One of the nearest towns is Kimwarer, located 10 kilometers east of Kaptagat.
Josephus ("Jos") Maria Melchior Hermens is a former Dutch long-distance runner. Subsequently, he also became well-known for his later career as a sports manager as the founder and CEO of Global Sports Communication, which manages many Olympian athletes.
Sports in Ethiopia include many fields, although Ethiopia is best known internationally for its middle-distance and long-distance runners. Seifu Mekonnen was an Olympic contestant for Ethiopia in boxing. The Ethiopian national football team won the 1962 African Cup of Nations. There are also traditional sports events, such as stick fighting which is popular amongst the Surma and Nyangatom people.
The men's 5000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics were held at the Olympic Stadium on 20 and 23 August
Ethiopia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's twelfth appearance at the Olympics, having missed three occasions because of the African, Soviet, and North Korean boycott. The Ethiopian Olympic Committee sent a total of 35 athletes to the Games, 18 men and 17 women, to compete only in athletics, specifically in the middle and long-distance running events, and swimming, the nation's Olympic debut.
Suguru Osako is a Japanese long-distance runner. He won the 10,000 metres gold medal at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen and holds the Asian junior record for the half marathon. He held the Japanese National Record for the marathon of 2:05:29 set at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, where he finished fourth.
Laban Kipngetich Korir is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running competitions. Korir is currently part of the NN Running Team, an international team of elite long-distance runners managed by Global Sports Communication in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
The 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympics is the longest track running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's 10,000 m has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1912. The women's event was added to the programme over seventy years later, at the 1988 Olympics. It is the most prestigious 10,000 m race at elite level. The competition format is a straight final between around 30 athletes, although prior to 2004 a qualifying round was held.
Guye Adola Idemo is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialises in the half marathon.
A negative split is a racing strategy that involves completing the second half of a race faster than the first half. It is defined by the intentional setting of a slower initial pace, followed by a gradual or sudden increase of speed towards the end of the race. Alternate strategies include even splitting or sit and kick. Conversely, the act of completing the first half of a race faster than the second half is known as a positive split.
The 2018 New York City Marathon was a marathon race held in New York City, United States, which took place on November 4, 2018. It was the 48th edition of the New York City Marathon, which is organised by New York Road Runners. The men's race was won by Lelisa Desisa, who held off a late challenge at the finish by Shura Kitata. The women's race was won by Mary Keitany, her fourth win of the event. Both Desisa and Keitany recorded the second fastest times on the course. In the wheelchair races, Daniel Romanchuk (1:36:21) and Switzerland's Manuela Schär (1:50:27) won the men's and women's races, respectively. A total of 52,704 runners finished the race, comprising 30,592 men and 22,112 women.
Shura Kitata Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and half-marathon. He has raced in several World Marathon Majors including the 2020 London Marathon where he won the race in a time of 2:05:41 and the 2018 London Marathon where he finished in second place behind Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya. Shura beat Kipchoge in the 2020 London Marathon to secure his first London Marathon title, just a second ahead of Vincent Kipchumba. His other best performances include the 2017 Rome Marathon and 2017 Frankfurt Marathon victories, where he finished with the times 2:07:30 and 2:05:50, respectively, and second in the 2018 New York City Marathon behind Lelisa Desisa with a time of 2:06:01.
NN Running Team is a professional running team based in the Netherlands. It was founded by Jos Hermens, the director of Global Sports Communication. The running team includes some of the most accomplished distance runners in the world, including many Olympians. One of NN Running Team's training camps is located in Kaptagat, Kenya. Team members include marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge.
The 2019 Berlin Marathon was a marathon race held on 29 September 2019 in Berlin, Germany. It was the 46th edition of the annual Berlin Marathon. The marathon distance is just over 26 miles (42 km) in length and the course is run around the city and starts and finishes in the Tiergarten. The elite men's race was won by Kenenisa Bekele in 2:01:41, two seconds slower than the world record set by Eliud Kipchoge in 2018. The elite women's race was won by Ashete Bekere following a sprint finish in 2:20:14. The wheelchair men's and women's races were won by Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär in 1:28:09 and 1:38:07, respectively.
The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; the mass participation event was cancelled. The event used a different course from usual, consisting of multiple laps around St James's Park.
Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) (long distance)
Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) (long distance)
Sifan Hassan (NLD) (long distance)
Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) (long distance)
Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (ERI) (long distance)
Isaac Makwala (BOT) (sprints)
Orlando Ortega (ESP) (sprints)
Lijiao Gong (CHN) (shot put)
Caterine Ibargüen (COL) (jumps)
Julien Wanders (SWI) (long distance)
Thiago André (BRA) (middle distance)
Luxolo Adams (ZAF) (sprints)
Maya Bruney (GBR) (sprints)
