Bekele Retires After Historic Double
Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele won both the 4km and 12km titles at the world cross country championships for the fifth consecutive year, a feat never before achieved. The 23-year-old immediately announced his retirement, marking the end of an era for one of the sport's all-time greats.
- The 2006 World Cross Country Championships took place in Fukuoka, Japan. - Bekele's win in the 12km long course was his fifth consecutive title, matching the record held by Kenyan great Paul Tergat. - The 2006 event was the last time the short-course (4km) races were held at the World Cross Country Championships, as they were discontinued afterwards. - At the time, Bekele was also the reigning Olympic and world 10,000-meter champion on the track. - After his victory, the 23-year-old said he was leaning towards not competing at the world cross country championships anymore because he felt he could not achieve anything new. - Despite his announcement, Bekele did compete again, winning a final long course world cross country title in 2008. - After stepping away from cross country, Bekele continued a decorated track career, becoming the first man to win both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2009 World Championships. - He later transitioned to marathon running with great success, winning the Berlin Marathon in 2016 and 2019; his 2019 time of 2:01:41 was only two seconds shy of the then-world record.
