1. Selemon Barega won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, silver for the 5,000 metres at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
11 Facts About Selemon Barega
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Selemon Barega won gold medals at the 2016 World Under-20 Championships, and 2017 World U18 Championships.
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Selemon Barega represented Ethiopia in the 5,000m at the 2017 World Championships in London, finishing fifth in the final.
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In 2017, Selemon Barega competed in the junior race of the World Cross Country Championships, finishing fifth.
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Selemon Barega competed in the senior men's race of the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.
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Selemon Barega placed fourth and was the first Ethiopian to finish in a race won by Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei.
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In February 2020, Selemon Barega competed at several indoor track races in Europe.
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In 2021, Selemon Barega won the Olympic candidate trial competition in Addis Ababa, recording a time of 27:58.5.
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The race was tactical, with Selemon Barega putting in surges and then slowing down before it came down to a last lap sprint finish.
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On 30 July 2021, at the age of 21, Selemon Barega won the 10,000 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, outsprinting world record holder Joshua Cheptegei and World Half Marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda to win in 27:43.22.
11.
Brutal humidity meant that the winning time of 27:43.22 was the slowest in an Olympic final since 1992, but Selemon Barega's close was sublime as he ripped the last kilometer in 2:24.9 and last lap in 53.94.