Ethiopia’s teenage runners ruled the athletics at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. They won five gold medals and three silver and finished first on the track and field table on Tuesday, November 10.
China came second with three gold, four silver and two bronze. Kenya and Nigeria each won three gold. These Games are the first Olympic event ever held in Africa, and the young Ethiopians made sure people noticed.
Two Golds in Ten Minutes
The last night was the best. Yomif Abebe (ዮሚፍ አበበ), 16, finished fast in the 800 meters and passed an Eritrean rival in the closing meters. He won in 1:48.99, a Games record.
“The secret to my win is my coach, my teammates, my family,” Yomif told Athletics Africa. “Our team is really good, we’re like a family.”
About ten minutes later, Elsabet Amare (ኤልሳቤት አማረ) took the 1500 meters in 4:28.02. Kenya’s Abigael Chepkirui was second in 4:29.86, and Eritrea’s Kanari Estifanos was third. Elsabet, 17, already had a big year behind her. In June she ran the fastest mile ever by a girl under 18, and in August she was fourth at the World Under 20 Championships in Oregon.
She did not hide her confidence. “Before we started the competition, I knew I was going to get the gold medal,” she said. “I just believed that I could win the gold.”
A 15 Year Old Breaks the Clock
Monday belonged to Junedin Abdo (ጁነዲን አብዶ). The 15 year old won the 2,000 meters steeplechase in 5:29.30, almost seven seconds ahead of Kenya’s Wesley Kiplagat. He became the first runner ever to break five minutes 30 seconds in the youth version of the race, which uses lower barriers.
Netsanet Selemon won the women’s 800 meters in 2:04.43, another Games record and a new personal best. Wabi Seblega then won the men’s 1500 meters in 3:58.73. That gave Ethiopia three gold medals in one evening.
Three Close Silvers
The silver medals were close calls. On Sunday, Tsedikan Mekonen was second in the women’s steeplechase, and Goytom Mekonen lost the men’s 3000 meters by about half a second. On Monday, Yordanos Tsigab missed gold in the women’s 3000 meters by just 0.24 seconds.
All eight medals came in races of 800 meters or longer. Several runners said the hot weather at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop stadium made every race hard.
A Big Week for Ethiopian Running
The Dakar medals capped a strong few days. On Sunday, Ethiopian runners also won both races at the Athens Marathon in record times. The same day, Fentaye Belayneh won the Boston Half Marathon for a third straight year.
Great Ethiopian careers often start this way. Haile Gebrselassie won two world junior titles in Seoul in 1992, years before his name filled our list of Ethiopian marathon winners by year. Elsabet, Yomif and Junedin now have the same kind of start.
