Gete Wami

Medal record
Women's Athletics
Representing  Ethiopia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney 10,000 m
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Atlanta 10,000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney 5000 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1999 Seville 10,000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Edmonton 10,000 m

Getenesh "Gete" Wami Degife (Amharic: ጌጤነሽ 'ጌጤ' ዋሚ ደግፌ born January 28th 1974 in Debre Berhan)[1] is an Ethiopian former long-distance runner who competed in cross country, track, and road events.

Her brother, Mulugeta Wami, is also a professional marathon runner.[2]

Biography

Gete won the gold medal at the 1999 World Championships in Seville, with a time of 30:24.56, which was a new African record and Championships Record.[3] She also won the 10,000 m gold medal at the 1999 All-Africa Games that year. She is a two-time winner of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, having taken the long race title in 1996 and then the short race title in 2001.

Gete won the 2006 Berlin Marathon, finishing in front of Salina Kosgei and Monika Drybulska on September 24.[4] She was expected to beat the world record over 15 km during the Zevenheuvelenloop in and around Nijmegen on 19 November 2006, but failed. Gete finished in second position during the race, nine seconds behind Mestewat Tufa, who finished in 47:22.

In 2007, Gete won the Berlin Marathon again. She competed in the New York Marathon thirty-five days later and she finished 23 seconds behind Paula Radcliffe. Her second-place finish gave her the World Marathon Majors Series Title, earning herself the $500,000 jackpot.[5]

In August 2008, Gete dropped out of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon, after running in the lead pack for much of the race, as did her teammate Berhane Adere.

The last outing of her career came at the 2009 London Marathon, where she came in ninth with a time of 2:26:54.

International competitions

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Ethiopia
1992 World Junior Championships Seoul, South Korea 2nd 10,000 m 32:41.57
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 18th 10,000 m 32:56.94
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 3rd 10,000 m 31:06.65
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece — 10,000 m DNF
1999 World Championships Sevilla, Spain 1st 10,000 m 30:24.56
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 3rd 5000 m 14:42.23
2nd 10,000 m 30:22.48
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 3rd 10,000 m 31:49.98
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China — Marathon DNF

Road races

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
2002 Amsterdam Marathon Amsterdam, Netherlands 1st Marathon
2005 San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon San Diego, United States 1st Marathon
2006 Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany 1st Marathon
Zevenheuvelenloop Nijmegen, Netherlands 2nd 15K
2007 Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany 1st Marathon
New York City Marathon New York City, United States 2nd Marathon
World Marathon Majors Series 1st Marathon

References

  1. ^ Gete Wami Archived October 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Sports Reference. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  2. ^ Wami en Deriba winnaars in Egmond, Butter en Borst leveren knappe prestatie Archived 2018-09-17 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch). Losse Veter (13 January 2008). Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Gete Wami shines again in the 10,000m". IAAF. 20 September 1999. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  4. ^ World-leading 2:05:56 for Gebrselassie in Berlin, iaaf.org, 24 September 2006
  5. ^ Radcliffe, Wami Steal Show in New York, Runners Web, 6 November 2007.

External links

Sporting positions Preceded byGabriela Szabo Women's 5.000m Best Year Performance 2000 Succeeded byOlga Yegorova
World champions in women's 10,000 metres
African Games champions in women's 10,000 metres
World Best Year Performance in Women's 5000 metres
World Best Year Performance in Women's 10,000 metres
World Athletics Senior Women's World Cross Country champions
Amsterdam Marathon โ€“ women's winners
Berlin Marathon โ€“ women's winners
San Diego Marathon โ€“ women's winners
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