Background

For a 23-year-old, Gebre Gebremariam has had some eventful races on the world stage, and none more so than the two that launched his career in 2002. In March of that year, he served notice of a bright future when he won the junior men’s division of the World Cross Country Championships barefoot, having lost one shoe early in the race before kicking off the other and overtaking Kenya’s Abel Cheruiyot in the final 200m to win by one second. With his victory, Gebremariam became the first runner from the southern province of Tigray to win a world title since Miruts Yifter took two gold medals at the 1980 Olympics. Then, that November, he upset a field that included Kenenisa Bekele to win the Great Ethiopian Run 10K in Addis Ababa, coming from nowhere to pass Sileshi Sihine with the tape in sight. Bekele, who was third, said afterward: “He is a young and strong athlete. I am happy that he won because he has hope for the future.” The future came quickly: In March of 2005, Gebre won both the 5000m and 10,000m at his national championships.

He and his wife, eight-time World Cross Country medalist Werknesh Kidane, have two sons: Nathaniel and newborn Muse.