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Kenenisa Bekele is arguably one of the all-time great long-distance runners in the world and holds the third-fastest marathon time in history. The 42-year-old is now eyeing the world record in the distance at the 2024 Valencia Marathon scheduled for Sunday, December 1.
Bekele hails from Ethiopia and although he wasn't initially interested in pursuing a career in running, the Olympian began to train seriously after receiving encouragement from his physical education teacher. He rose to prominence at the 2001 World Junior Championships after breaking the 3000m world junior record.
From 2002 to 2006, Bekele left an indelible mark on the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, winning both the short (4 km) and long (12 km) races for a record five straight years.
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The 42-year-old made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Athens Olympics, winning a gold medal in the men's 10,000m and a silver medal in the 5000m. During the same season, Bekele broke the world records for indoors 5000m, outdoors 5000m, and outdoors 10,000m in a span of nine days.
He won the Olympic gold medals in both the men's 10,000m and the 5000m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to win any at the 2012 Games. The Ethiopian switched to Marathon in 2014, debuting at the 2014 Paris Marathon with a win in 2:05:04.
Bekele has since captured two Major Marathon titles (Berlin in 2016 and 2019) and despite running some of the fastest times in history, the world record has eluded him so far. He, however, holds the masters marathon world record in the age group of 40.
"I won't give up till I break the world record" - Kenenisa Bekele ahead of Sunday's Valencia Marathon
Kenenisa Bekele came really close to breaking the marathon world record during his win at the 2019 Berlin Marathon. He clocked 2:01:41 and was just 2 seconds shy of the world record time. The 42-year-old has since been eyeing to break the record and vowed to not give up until he breaks it, or at least comes very close to breaking it.
"I won't give up till I break the world record or get very close to that time," he said during a press conference ahead of the Valencia Marathon
When asked if he would attempt to break it during Sunday's race, Bekele said while he wasn't in the best shape, he would give his best shot nonetheless.
"Maybe not Sunday, to be honest, I'm not in shape, I'm not in my peak but for sure I'll show my best," Kenenisa Bekele added.
The 42-year-old last competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics Marathon and finished in 39th place with a time of 2:12:24.
