Zersenay Tadese Habtesilase is a retired Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete.
46 Facts About Zersenay Tadese
2.
Zersenay Tadese held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018.
3.
Zersenay Tadese set a world record at the Lisbon Half Marathon in 2010.
4.
Zersenay Tadese has excelled in cross country running, winning a gold, a silver, and two bronze medals in the long-distance race over five IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
5.
In 2009, Zersenay became only the second man to win three World Championship medals over three different surfaces in the same year, winning World Cross Country bronze, 10,000 metres World Championship silver on the track, and gold in road running at the World Half Marathon Championships.
6.
Zersenay Tadese is a popular public figure in his home country; 2500 guests attended his wedding to Merhawit Solomon, which was broadcast live on Eritrean television.
7.
Zersenay Tadese's brother, Kidane Tadese, is a professional distance runner.
8.
Zersenay Tadese was born in Adi Bana, Eritrea, and had a peaceful, rural upbringing with his six siblings, largely avoiding the troubles of the Eritrean War of Independence.
9.
Zersenay Tadese became interested in cycling in his teenage years and, after winning a number of races, he set his sights upon becoming a professional cyclist in Europe.
10.
Zersenay Tadese was a relative late-comer to competitive running: in his late teens, scouts from a local athletics club suggested that his cycling stamina might translate to running and invited him to compete.
11.
Zersenay Tadese won the race and was spurred on by the victory to start taking the sport seriously and focus on running.
12.
Zersenay Tadese was adamant that his early years in cycling had given him a firm foundation for endurance running.
13.
Zersenay Tadese competed on the track at the African Athletics Championships, taking sixth place in the 10,000 metres race in Rades, Tunisia, rounding off a modest debut year.
14.
The 2003 season saw Zersenay Tadese establish himself as an emerging force in cross country: he broke into the top ten at the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, and finished in the top three in all of his six races in Europe that winter.
15.
Zersenay Tadese took the bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece behind Kenenisa Bekele, and Sileshi Sihine.
16.
Zersenay Tadese finished his first Olympics by reaching another event final: he took seventh place in the men's 5000 metres race, confirming his position as a world-class runner.
17.
Zersenay Tadese opened 2005 with a second win in the European Clubs' Cross Country Cup.
18.
Zersenay Tadese won his first World Cross Country Championship medal soon after, finishing second to Bekele to take silver at the 2005 edition.
19.
Zersenay Tadese failed to make the podium for a second time at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships, but his fourth-place finish headed the Eritrean team towards silver medal in the team competition.
20.
Zersenay Tadese sprinted to the line with a finishing time of 27:36; an Eritrean record and the second fastest that year.
21.
The hot conditions in Mombasa forced a number of runners out of the race, but Zersenay Tadese maintained his pace to finish over twenty seconds ahead of the next runner.
22.
Zersenay Tadese returned to the Great Manchester Run and again improved his best, recording 27:24, but this was not enough to beat Micah Kogo who won in a UK all-comers record time.
23.
Zersenay Tadese competed at the Prefontaine Classic for the first time, and set a two miles best of 8:19.34, although he was some distance behind winner Craig Mottram.
24.
The 2007 All-Africa Games represented a double landmark victory for Zersenay Tadese: he became the first Eritrean medallist in the competition's history, and won his first ever gold medal on the track, sealing victory in the 10,000 m final with a Games record time of 27:00.30.
25.
Zersenay Tadese emphasised his position as one of the world's most dominant half marathon runners with a second victory at the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy.
26.
Bekele was keen to regain his cross country title from Zersenay Tadese and the 2008 cross country season was a competitive one.
27.
At the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country race, Zersenay Tadese was pipped by the Ethiopian at the line, finishing just one second behind.
28.
Zersenay Tadese's brother, Kidane, was competing and he led for most of first half of what was a quick race.
29.
Zersenay Tadese won his third consecutive title over the half marathon distance with ease, taking the lead early on and beating the second-placed Patrick Makau Musyoki by almost two minutes.
30.
Zersenay Tadese's success caused much celebration in his home country, so much so that the President of Eritrea greeted him at the airport upon his return.
31.
Zersenay Tadese took third place at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in a closely contested race, finishing just behind a resurgent Gebregziabher Gebremariam and Ugandan runner Moses Kipsiro.
32.
Zersenay Tadese rebounded taking silver in the 10,000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, finishing behind Kenenisa Bekele.
33.
Zersenay Tadese had led for a large part of the race, setting a fast pace, but he was beaten to the gold by Bekele's sprint finish.
34.
Samuel Wanjiru's half marathon world record was next to fall as Zersenay Tadese crossed the line at 58:23 minutes, a clear ten seconds ahead of the previous mark.
35.
Zersenay Tadese managed to finish his first full-marathon at the 2010 London Marathon, although his time of 2:12:03 for seventh place was not as strong a transition as expected.
36.
Zersenay Tadese was still suffering from the injury at the San Silvestre Vallecana some two months later, although he managed to beat Ayad Lamdassem to win the race.
37.
Zersenay Tadese was at full strength at the 2011 Lisbon Half Marathon: he missed his world record mark but ran the second fastest of all-time.
38.
Zersenay Tadese ended the year with road wins at the Porto Half Marathon and the Sao Silvestre de Luanda, setting course records of 59:30 minutes and 27:44 minutes, respectively.
39.
Zersenay Tadese won the Lisbon Half Marathon for the third straight year, but was slower than previous times due to warm conditions and having the flu.
40.
Zersenay Tadese was chosen as Eritrea's flag bearer at the 2012 London Olympics and ran in the 10,000 metres final.
41.
Zersenay Tadese set the pace early on in the race but was defeated in the sprint finish, finishing in sixth place some three seconds behind the winner Mo Farah.
42.
Zersenay Tadese clocked another win over the distance at the Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon, beating the defending champion Martin Mathathi and setting a course record of 60:31 minutes.
43.
Zersenay Tadese did not compete again until February 2014, when he won at the small Caceres cross country in Spain.
44.
Zersenay Tadese won 18 out of 29 half Marathons he raced.
45.
Zersenay Tadese is a popular public figure in his home country; 2500 guests attended his wedding to Merhawit Solomon, which was broadcast live on Eritrean television.
46.
Zersenay Tadese's brother, Kidane Tadese, is a professional distance runner who has competed at the World Cross Country Championships and the 2008 Summer Olympics.