Selemon Barega

Selemon Barega
Selemon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene
Personal information
Born (2000-01-20) 20 January 2000 (age 24)
Gurage zone, Ethiopia
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
CountryEthiopia
SportAthletics
EventLong-distance running
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Ethiopia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 10,000 m
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Doha 5000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Budapest 10,000 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Belgrade 3000 m
Silver medal – second place 2018 Birmingham 3000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Glasgow 3000 m
Diamond League
First place 2018 5000 m
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2016 Bydgoszcz 5000 m
African Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Tlemcen 5000 m
World Youth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Nairobi 3000 m
World Cross Country Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Bathurst Senior team

Selemon Barega Shirtaga (born 20 January 2000)[1] is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He 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. Barega is a two-time 3,000 metres World Indoor Championship medallist, taking silver in 2018, and a gold in 2022.[2]

He won gold medals at the 2016 World Under-20 Championships (5,000m), and 2017 World U18 Championships (3,000m). Barega represented Ethiopia in the 5,000m at the 2017 World Championships in London, finishing fifth in the final.

Career[edit]

Selemon was born in the Gurage area of Ethiopia.[3]

He began competing internationally in 2016. On 23 July, he won the 5,000 metres at the World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland with a time of 13:21.21.

2017–18[edit]

In 2017, Selemon competed in the junior race of the World Cross Country Championships, finishing fifth. He won the African U20 Championships in Tlemcen, Algeria over 5,000 m clocking 13:51.43 on 2 July.

On 6 July, Selemon clocked his first sub-13 minute 5,000 m at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting, placing second in 12:55.58. On 16 July, he won the 3,000 m at the Nairobi World U18 Championships, clocking 7:47.16. At the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London, he placed fifth in the men's 5000 m final in a time of 13:35.34; the race was won by his compatriot Muktar Edris.

In 2018, Selemon placed second over the 3,000 m at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom, clocking a time of 8:15.59 on 4 March. On 25 May, he won the two mile race at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. His next major championship was on 14 July at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, where he placed fourth in 13:21.16. On 31 August, Selemon set a world U20 record in the 5000 m at the Brussels Diamond League clocking a time of 12:43.02. This performance ranked him as the fifth fastest 5,000 m performer of all time, behind Joshua Cheptegei, Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie, and Daniel Komen.[4]

2019–20[edit]

Selemon competed in the senior men's race of the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. He placed fourth and was the first Ethiopian to finish in a race won by Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei.[5] He placed second at the Shanghai Diamond League on 18 May and the Rome Diamond League on 6 June. On 13 June, Selemon won the 3,000 m at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, clocking 7:32.17. On 30 June, he placed third over two miles at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon with a time of 8:08.69. On 5 July, he was second at the Lausanne Diamond League, clocking 13:01.99 in the 5,000 m. On 17 July, Selemon was second at the Ethiopian Trials in Hengelo, Netherlands in a personal best time of 26:49.46, finishing behind Hagos Gebrhiwet. On 29 August, he was fifth over the 5,000 m at the Zürich Diamond League. On 27 September, he won his heat of the men's 5,000 m at the 2019 World Championships in Athletics in Doha, Qatar. On 30 September, he finished second in the final in 12:59.70, outsprinted by compatriot Muktar Edris.

In February 2020, Selemon competed at several indoor track races in Europe. His next race was on 8 September at the Golden Spike Ostrava, where he contested the 5,000 m, placing second with a time of 12:49.08. Despite attempting to sprint past Jacob Kiplimo in the final 100 m, the Ugandan held on to win in a time of 12:48.63.[6] Selemon next raced the 1,500 m at the Galà dei Castelli in Switzerland, placing third at 3:36.07 on 15 September. At the Doha Diamond League on 25 September, he raced 1,500 m in 3:32.97, placing second. He headed back to Ethiopia, where on 26 December, he ran 1,500 m at the Ethiopian Clubs Competition in Addis Ababa, winning in 3:38.1.

2021–present[edit]

In 2021, Selemon won the Olympic candidate trial competition in Addis Ababa, recording a time of 27:58.5. He competed at several indoor track races in January and February, including a 7:26.10 3000 m, clocking him second place behind compatriot Getnet Wale. He became the third fastest performer in history over the indoor 3000 m with his performance, behind Kenya's Daniel Komen, who clocked 7:24.90 on 6 February 1998, and Wale, who won the race in 7:24.98.[7] Selemon next raced two indoor 1500 m races on the World Athletics Indoor Tour winning both, first at the Copernicus Cup in Toruń, Poland he clocked a 3:32.97 on 17 February, and then on 24 February, a 3:35.42 performance in Madrid, Spain. His performance in Toruń made him the eighth fastest performer of all time in the indoor 3000 m.[8] Selemon's first outdoor track 5000 m race of the year came in Bergamo, Italy on 12 May, where he clocked 13:02.47, beaten by Kenya's Mark Owon Lomuket.[9] Selemon next raced at the Ethiopian Trials in Hengelo, where he won the 10,000 m in a time of 26:49.51 [10] holding off Yomif Kejelcha who was second, Berihu Aregawi placed third. The race was tactical, with Selemon putting in surges and then slowing down before it came down to a last lap sprint finish.

On 30 July 2021, at the age of 21, Selemon 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][12] Brutal humidity meant that the winning time of 27:43.22 was the slowest in an Olympic final since 1992, but Barega's close was sublime as he ripped the last kilometer in 2:24.9 and last lap in 53.94.[13] This win made him the fourth Ethiopian to win the 10,000 m title at the Olympics, the other three being Kenenisa Bekele (2004, 2008), Haile Gebrselassie (1996, 2000), and Miruts Yifter (1980).[14]

Achievements[edit]

International competitions[edit]

Representing  Ethiopia
Year Competition Venue Position Event Result
2016 World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st 5000 m 13:21.21
2017 African U20 Championships Tlemcen, Algeria 1st 5000 m 13:51.43
World U18 Championships Nairobi, Kenya 1st 3000 m 7:47.16
World Championships London, United Kingdom 5th 5000 m 13:35.34
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 2nd 3000 m i 8:15.59
African Championships Asaba, Nigeria 4th 5000 m 13:52.27
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 2nd 5000 m 12:59.70
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 1st 10,000 m 27:43:22
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 1st 3000 m i 7:41.38
World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 12th 5000 m 13:19.62
5th 10,000 m 27:28.39
2023 World Cross Country Championships Bathurst, Australia 12th Senior race 30:16
2nd Team 32 pts
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 3rd 10,000 m 27:52.72
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd 3000 m i 7:43.64

Personal bests[edit]

Circuit wins and titles, National titles[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Selemon Barega at World Athletics Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "2022 Worlds Day 3 AM: Barega Wins 3000 Gold as Rojas Jumps 15.74 TJ WR". LetsRun.com. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  3. ^ Borenstein, Hannah. "Barega's success, built on hard work and determination." World Athletics, 11 May 2021, www.worldathletics.org/news/feature/selemon-barega-hard-work-determination. Accessed 15 June 2021.
  4. ^ "5000 Metres Men." World Athletics, worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/ middle-long/5000-metres/outdoor/men/senior?regionType=world&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true&firstDay=1899-12-31&lastDay=2021-06-14. Accessed 15 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Results Senior Race Men." World Athletics Cross Country Championships, www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-cross-country-championships/iaaf-world-cross-country-championships-aarhus-7125363/results/men/senior-race/final/result. Accessed 15 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Athlete Profile Jacob Kiplimo." World Athletics, www.worldathletics.org/athletes/uganda/jacob-kiplimo-14735365. Accessed 15 June 2021.
  7. ^ "3000 Metres Men." World Athletics, worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/3000-metres/indoor/men/senior?regionType=world&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true&oversizedTrack=regular&firstD ay=1899-12-31&lastDay=2021-06-14. Accessed 15 June 2021.
  8. ^ "1500 Metres Men." World Athletics, worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/ middle-long/1500-metres/indoor/men/senior?regionType=world&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true&oversizedTrack=regular&firstDay=1899-12-31&lastDay=2021-06-14. Accessed 15 June 2021.
  9. ^ "5000 Metres Men." World Athletics, www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/5000-metres/outdoor/men/senior/2021?regionType=world&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true. Accessed 16 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Athlete Profile Selemon Barega." World Athletics, worldathletics.org/athletes/ethiopia/selemon-barega-14751317. Accessed 15 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Selemon Barega wins men's 10,000m in first athletics final of Tokyo 2020". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Ethiopia's Barega wins first track gold". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  13. ^ AP (30 July 2021). "Athletics: Ethiopia's Selemon Barega wins first track gold of Tokyo Olympics in 10,000m race". Sportstar. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  14. ^ George Ramsay (30 July 2021). "Selemon Barega wins 10,000m gold at the Tokyo Olympics despite Uganda's tactical approach". CNN. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  15. ^ "IAAF Diamond League Final 2018 – Brussels (BEL) – 30th-31st August" (PDF). Diamond League. 31 August 2018. p. 1. Retrieved 1 January 2021.

External links[edit]

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