Denied Abera

Gezahegne Abera medal table
Denied Abera
Marathon runner
Ethiopia Ethiopia
Olympic games
gold	2000 Sydney	marathon
World championships
gold	2001 Edmonton	marathon

Gezahegne Abera (born April 23, 1978 ) is a former Ethiopian marathon runner who was the only male runner to date besides Stephen Kiprotich to be both Olympic and world champions in this discipline . His personal best in the marathon is 2:07:54 h.

Life

Abera grew up in humble circumstances with seven siblings, including Daniel Abera , in the village of Etya in what is now the province of Oromiyaa . On June 8, 2003, Abera married Elfenesh Alemu , one of the best Ethiopian marathon runners.

Due to the sporting success in marathon running, Abera gained great popularity in Ethiopia.

Sporting successes

In 1999 he was fourth at the Los Angeles Marathon and eleventh at the World Championships in Seville . He won the Fukuoka Marathon with his personal best of 2:07:54 h. In 2000 he finished second in the Boston Marathon and won gold at the Olympic Games in Sydney ahead of Erick Wainaina (Kenya) and his compatriot Tesfaye Tola . In 2001 Abera became world champion in the marathon at the World Championships in Edmonton . It came to a thrilling final in which Abera prevailed with just one second ahead of the Kenyan Simon Biwott . In Fukuoka he won again in 2:09:25 h. In 2002, Abera won the Fukuoka Marathon for the third time in 2:09:13 h. In 2003 he won the London Marathon in 2:07:56 hours.

After that, injuries prevented participation in the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Olympic Games. Due to recurring injuries, his career ended at a relatively young age.