Gezahegne abera biography

Ethiopian long-distance runner

This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by his given name, Gezahegne, and not as Abera.

Gezahegne Abera (Amharic: ገዛኸኝ አበራ; born April 23, 1978) is an Ethiopian athlete and winner of the marathon race at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Born in Etya, Arsi Province, Gezahegne's first international competition was the 1999 Los Angeles Marathon, where he finished fourth, behind three Kenyans. That earned him a place in the Ethiopian 1999 World Championships team, where he finished eleventh.

Later in the 1999 season, Gezahegne won his first international marathon,^[1] finishing first at Fukuoka marathon in Japan. He won that marathon again in 2001 and 2002. In 2000, Gezahegne finished second in the Boston Marathon.

At the SydneyOlympics, the marathon race came down to two Ethiopians, Gezahegne and Tesfaye Tola, and Kenyan Erick Wainaina. At the 37 km mark, Wainaina tried to make a break, but 2 km later Gezahegne surged to the lead and held the posi

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