If boxing is a good chance for a dark-skinned American guy, track and field is an Ethiopian guy. One of the clearest examples of this statement is the story of Kenenis Bekele, an African runner who forever wrote his name in the annals of world sports.
From the article, the reader learns how the star of a young Ethiopian styer ascended to Athletics Olympus. The article focuses on the approach to Kenenisa Bekele's training, its physiological data, and the characteristics of the running technique. Interesting information about the athlete’s personal life, his hobbies and outlooks on life is also offered.
Road to fame
The great African runner was born on August 13, 1982 in the Ethiopian city of Bakoji. In the same city, the Dibaba sisters were born - also in the future, the famous African long-distance runners. Kenenisa was the second child of six in his family, which by African standards is considered quite normal. By the way, Kenenisa’s sibling Tariku also trains in the Ethiopian team and even won a gold medal at the World Championships in the 3000m race.
The Bekele family was engaged in agriculture. Breeding livestock and growing crops allowed the guy to spend a lot of time outdoors.
According to Kenenisa himself, his acquaintance with running began quite early, from school. For knowledge, the future star of world sports for 10 years had to walk 10 kilometers one way every day. In fact, it turned out that running across the distance to the school was much more pleasant and useful. At first, the boy ran this distance in an hour, but then he grew up and doubled his result. So the first steps were taken towards a bright future. Here, it turns out, what is the secret of sports training for runners of this scale.
In the educational institution, the future great styer distinguished himself several times, winning school crosses. In 1999, the young man was noticed and sent to defend the honor of the school for the provincial championship. Kenenis then confidently took first place. This victory gave the athlete a ticket not only to the national championship, but also to big sport.
One of the idols for the young man was Haile Gibreselassie, the legend of styer running. However, this did not stop Kenenis Beckel from breaking many records of the famous runner.
Success in sports
At the national championship Bekele was on the 6th line, which, of course, was considered a success, given the huge competition in the national team. Professional running trainers drew attention to the rising star of athletics. The runner was invited to play for the professional sports club Mugher Cement.
At the age of 19, the young man demonstrated his potential by winning the silver medal of the junior world championship in 5000 meters.
Since 2002, a sharp take-off begins in the career of sports Kenenisa Bekele.
The most significant athlete's awards include gold in the top ten and silver in the top five at the Athens Olympics, gold medals in similar disciplines in Beijing 2008.
The athlete is a four-time world champion in the 10 km race, and the 2009 world champion in the "five" race. Moreover, Bekele is known as one of the most titled cross-country runners. Styer has won victories in the world championships in cross-country more than 15 times!
Bekele, despite the 35-year milestone, continues to stay in shape and demonstrate good results. As is often the case with athletes, with age, he began to try himself in running for longer distances. For example, in 2016, an athlete won the Berlin Marathon and set a personal record - 2 hours 3 minutes and 4 seconds. It turns out that the runner overcame 42 kilometers 125 meters at a speed of over 20 kilometers per hour!
In running for 25 kilometers, Kenenis Bekele set a personal record in December 2017, having covered the distance in 1 hour, 13 minutes and 43 seconds.
The athlete is still the owner of world records in running 5 and 10 kilometers.
Characteristic qualities and characteristics of the athlete
One of the main characteristics of a styer is small height and weight. Kenenis Bekele weighs 56 kilograms with an increase of 165 centimeters. Many legends of world long distance running have similar indicators. For example, Mo Farah weighs 58 kilograms with an increase of 165 centimeters. Haile Gibresilassie was better than Beckele in the best years by only 2 kilograms. The weight of Kenenisa Bekele allows him to run “off the toe” for a long time, making huge jumps. A similar running technique is characteristic of many Ethiopian athletes.
Particular attention in the training of Kenenis Bekele pays working out of finishing accelerations. The last 400 meters of the “tens”, this athlete is able to run faster than 54 seconds, which is an excellent finish for the styer.
