Background

Negussie is no stranger to the victory stand, having won four marathons including his debut in 2001. Without a doubt, however, the biggest victory of his career came on April 18, 2005, when he surged at 25 kilometers to become the first Ethiopian male since Abebe Mekkonen in 1989 to win the venerable Boston Marathon. “Day and night I was dreaming of winning the Boston Marathon, and I did what I was dreaming of,” he said in the post-race press conference.

As a boy, Negussie lived an hour’s walk from his primary and secondary school and often ran to keep from being late, but he got his real start in running via “genna,” a game similar to field hockey played with a wooden stick and wooden ball. One Christmas, he was challenged to run in a race after the genna game, finished second and was immediately spotted by a coach who asked if he would like to run in a regional cross-country meet. From there, his career took off, straight to the coveted laurel wreath of Boston.