Gidamis Shahanga

Gidamis Shahanga (born September 4, 1957 in Katesh , Manyara ) is a former Tanzanian athlete who won both the 10,000 meter run and the marathon at the Commonwealth Games .

Career

At the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Shahanga won the marathon in 2:15:40 hours. The following year he finished second in Dakar at the African Athletics Championships in Dakar in 2:36:46 hours, almost seven minutes behind Kebede Balcha . At the 1980 Olympic Games , Shahanga finished 15th in 2:16:47 h. In 1982, at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, 28: 10.15 minutes were enough for him to win gold in front of his compatriot Zacharia Barie . Five days later, he finished sixth in the marathon.

As a student at the University of Texas at El Paso , Shahanga won the 1983 NCAA championships over 5000 meters as well as over 10,000 meters and won the Bern Grand Prix . In the sprint decision over 10,000 meters at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Shahanga finished fifth in 28: 01.93 min, less than a second behind the winner Alberto Cova . In 1984 Shahanga won the Los Angeles Pre-Olympic Marathon and the Rotterdam Marathon . At the 1984 Olympic Games , Shahanga was eliminated over 10,000 m in the preliminary run. Up to half of the marathon of these games was heavily influenced by Gidamis Shahanga and his compatriot Juma Ikangaa . However, Shahanga fell far behind in the second half and finished the race in 22nd place, seven minutes behind the winner Carlos Lopes .

In 1986 he finished second in the Los Angeles and Hamburg marathons and fourth in the Beijing marathon . In 1988 he won the 10,000 meter run at the East and Central African Championships and finished fourth in the New York Marathon . A year later, he finished fourth in the Honolulu Marathon . In 1990 Shahanga won the Vienna Spring Marathon and the Greifensee run and came second in the Berlin Marathon . In 1993 and 1994, Shahanga won the Munich Marathon .

With a height of 1.80 m, Shahanga's competition weight was 57 kg. His brother Alfredo Shahanga was also successful as a marathon runner.

Personal bests

• 10,000 m: 27: 38.1 min, April 24, 1982, Walnut
• Marathon: 2:08:32 h, September 30, 1990, Berlin

Web links

• Gidamis shahanga in the database of World Athletics (English)
• Gidamis Shahanga in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )