Siraj Gena

Siraj Amda Gena, also known as Giday Amha and Siraj Amda Bene, (born 12 November 1984) is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in the marathon. He won his first race in 2010, beating all-comers at the Rome City Marathon to set a personal best of 2:08:39.

Career

He began his professional career in 2005 and he set a personal best time of 2:11:26 to finish third in the Dubai Marathon.[1] He returned to the race the following year and came one place further to winning, although he would have won if Joseph Ngeny Kiprotich, initially brought in as a pacemaker, hadn't decided to continue and finish the race instead.[2] He competed in Asia for a second time that year and took fifth place at the Nagano Marathon, although he was leading the race throughout right until the 30 km mark.[3] He failed to make much progression in the 2007 and 2008; years which were highlighted by a 13th-place finish at the Amsterdam Marathon and a fourth place at the Nagano Marathon, respectively.[4][5]

He took part in the Frankfurt Marathon for the first time in 2009 and although he finished in ninth position, he set a personal best of 2:10:41.[6] Gena began to make his mark on the road running circuit in 2010 as he began the year with a second-place finish behind Denis Ndiso at the Mumbai Marathon (an IAAF Gold Label Road Race).[7] His first ever marathon win soon followed: he ran his fastest ever time (2:08:39) to gain victory at the Rome City Marathon. The event was made more special by the fact that it was in honour of the 50th anniversary of Ethiopian Abebe Bikila's Olympic gold in the 1960 Rome Olympic marathon,[8] in which he became the first black African to win an Olympic gold medal.[9] Gena marked the occasion by removing his shoes to run barefoot for the last 300 metres, mirroring the shoe-less running style of Bikila and earning a 5000€ bonus in the process.[8]

Gena won his second marathon of 2010 in October at the Beijing International Marathon. Cold, wet weather severely affected the race, leaving him shivering as he crossed the line in 2:15:45, but his coach (former runner Haji Adillo) said he thought Gena could run around the 2:06 mark in good conditions.[10] He was one of the favourite for the 2011 Xiamen Marathon in January, but he finished in fifth place.[11] He attempted to retain his title in Rome in March 2011 but had to settle for second place, thirty seconds adrift of winner Dickson Chumba.[12] He ran a half marathon best of 1:02:36 hours at the Göteborgsvarvet,[13] and the Frankfurt Marathon in October saw him improve his marathon best to 2:08:31 hours (finishing in eighth).[14]

On November 17, 2013, Gena finished second at the Istanbul Marathon in a time of 2:13:19 hours behind French athlete Abraham Kiprotich. He was subsequently promoted to first place following Kiprotich's disqualification for a doping offence.[15][16]

Achievements
Year Competition Position Distance Time (h:m:s)
2005 Dubai Marathon 3rd Marathon 2:11:26
2006 Dubai Marathon 2nd Marathon 2:14:25
2010 Mumbai Marathon 2nd Marathon 2:13:58
Rome City Marathon 1st Marathon 2:08:39
2013 Istanbul Marathon 1st Marathon 2:13:19
2016 Buenos Aires Marathon 1st Marathon 2:20:24

Personal bests
Event Time (h:m:s) Venue Date
Marathon2:08:31Frankfurt Marathon30 October 2011
  • All information taken from IAAF profile.

References
  1. Butcher, Pat (2005-01-07). Ethiopian double in Dubai. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  2. Butcher, Pat (2006-02-17). Pacemaker keeps going, and wins in Dubai. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  3. Nakamara, Ken & Onishi, Akihiro (2006-04-16). Kinyanjui, Ivanova the winners in Nagano. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  4. van Hemert, Wim (2007-10-27). 2:06:29 breakthrough for Mutai - Amsterdam Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  5. Nakamara, Ken & Onishi, Akihiro (2008-04-20). Kinyanjui, Ivanova, defend in Nagano. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  6. Butcher, Pat (2009-10-05). Kirwa breaks course record with 2:06:14 in Frankfurt. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  7. Krishnan, Ram. Murali (2010-01-17). Ndiso and Urgesa take Mumbai titles. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  8. Sampaolo, Diego (2010-03-21). Ethiopian double as Rome celebrates Bikila – Rome Marathon report. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  9. Ethiopian of the Millennium Nominees. Ethiopian Millennium. Retrieved on 2010-03-22.
  10. Butcher, Pat (2010-10-24). Ethiopian Siraj takes victory in rain soaked Beijing. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-10-23.
  11. Cartier, Cyrille (2011-01-02). Kipchumba breaks course record at Xiamen Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-02.
  12. Sampaolo, Diego (2011-03-20). Dado takes third straight Rome title as Chumba surprises. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-03-20.
  13. 32nd GöteborgsVarvet Half Marathon 2011. Athlinks. Retrieved on 2012-02-19.
  14. Butcher, Pat (2012-10-30). Kipsang tantalises with 2:03:42 World record assault in Frankfurt. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-02-19.
  15. "35th Vodafone Istanbul Marathon 2013-Marathon Overall Results" (PDF). Istanbul Marathon. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
  16. Istanbul Marathon history Archived 2015-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. Istanbul Marathon. Retrieved on 2015-06-28.
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