Bekele Retires After Historic Double
Kenenisa Bekele made history by winning both the 4km and 12km men's titles at the world cross country championships for the fifth consecutive year—a feat never before accomplished. After completing this unprecedented double, the Ethiopian legend announced his retirement from the competition circuit.
- In total, Bekele amassed 11 senior individual gold medals at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, including six on the long course and five on the short course. - The "short course" 4km race was discontinued by the IAAF after 2006, the final year of Bekele's five consecutive "double" victories. He would go on to win one more long-course title in 2008. - Concurrent with his cross country success, Bekele also dominated on the track, winning 10,000m gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and securing gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. - In 2009, he became the first man to win both the 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the same World Championships. - Following his track and cross country career, Bekele transitioned to road racing, making his marathon debut with a victory at the 2014 Paris Marathon in a course record time of 2:05:04. - His marathon career has been marked by both injuries and major victories, including winning the 2019 Berlin Marathon in 2:01:41, which at the time was the second-fastest marathon ever run.
