Wodajo Bulti

Wodajo Bulti (born 11 March 1957) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner who specialized in the 5000 metres, 10000 metres and cross-country running.

Career

Wodajo was one of the most significant Ethiopian middle and long-distance runners in 1980s. In his early years on the track he concentrated more on shorter distances such as 1500 metres because of great depth of Ethiopian talent over longer distances. He spent these years in the shadow of great Miruts Yifter, double Olympic Champion from Moscow and Mohamed Kedir, Olympic and World Cup medalist.

His breakthrough came in 1982, at 25 years of age, when Wodajo finished at third place over 1500 m at the 1982 African Championships in Athletics in Cairo and followed it by the gold medal at 5000 metres. On 16 September in Rieti, he won at 5000 m in huge personal best time of 13:07.29 minutes, recording third fastest time ever. With such achievements behind him, he was somewhat disappointed when finished at seventh place over 5000 m at next year's inaugural 1983 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki.

In 1984, he was strong 5000 m medal contender for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, finishing second in Florence behind Said Aouita in a time of 13:10.08 minutes (fourth in the yearly rankings), but was unable to compete in the Olympics due to the Ethiopian boycott. At the Friendship Games in Moscow, Bulti came third at 5000 m and second at 10,000 metres, breaking the 28 minute barrier. After these performances, Wodajo exploded in 1985 and opened season with the bronze medal at the 1985 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, finishing behind Carlos Lopes and Paul Kipkoech. At the African Championships, he became champion at both, 5000 m and 10,000 m distances, beating many great runners and relegating Kipkoech to second respectively third place. He was elected to represent Africa over both distances at the World Cup in Canberra and at day one, he won the gold over longer distance thanks to his fast finish and followed it by the bronze medal performance over 5000 m.

Bulti concentrated on longer distances for the remainder of his career and in 1987, he won in Helsinki over 10,000 m in new personal best time of 27:29.41 minutes which placed him second at 1987 world lists, but finished a disastrous 24th at the World Championships in Rome. He set career best of 2:08:44 finishing third in Rotterdam Marathon in 1988, but again, he was unable to compete at the Olympic Games in Seoul, due to the continued Ethiopian boycott.

Achievements

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Ethiopia
1982 World Cross Country Championships Rome, Italy 12th Long race
1st Team
African Championships Cairo, Egypt 3rd 1500 m
1st 5000 m
1983 World Cross Country Championships Gateshead, United Kingdom 20th Long race
1st Team
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 7th 5000 m
1984 World Cross Country Championships New York City, United States 1st Team
Friendship Games Moscow, Soviet Union 3rd 5000 m 13:29.08
2nd 10,000 m 27:58.97
1985 World Cross Country Championships Lisbon, Portugal 3rd Long race
1st Team
African Championships Cairo, Egypt 1st 5000 m
1st 10,000 m
World Cup Canberra, Australia 3rd 5000 m
1st 10,000 m
1986 World Cross Country Championships Neuchâtel, Switzerland 2nd Team
1987 World Cross Country Championships Warsaw, Poland 3rd Team
World Championships Rome, Italy 24th 10,000 m


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