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.
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]
siraj, gena, siraj, amda, gena, also, known, giday, amha, siraj, amda, bene, born, november, 1984, ethiopian, long, distance, runner, specialises, marathon, first, race, 2010, beating, comers, rome, city, marathon, personal, best, contents, career, achievement. 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 Contents 1 Career 2 Achievements 3 Personal bests 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditHe 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 Goteborgsvarvet 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 EditYear Competition Position Distance Time h m s 2005 Dubai Marathon 3rd Marathon 2 11 262006 Dubai Marathon 2nd Marathon 2 14 252010 Mumbai Marathon 2nd Marathon 2 13 58Rome City Marathon 1st Marathon 2 08 392013 Istanbul Marathon 1st Marathon 2 13 192016 Buenos Aires Marathon 1st Marathon 2 20 24Personal bests EditEvent Time h m s Venue DateMarathon 2 08 31 Frankfurt Marathon 30 October 2011All information taken from IAAF profile References Edit Butcher Pat 2005 01 07 Ethiopian double in Dubai IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 Butcher Pat 2006 02 17 Pacemaker keeps going and wins in Dubai IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 Nakamara Ken amp Onishi Akihiro 2006 04 16 Kinyanjui Ivanova the winners in Nagano IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 van Hemert Wim 2007 10 27 2 06 29 breakthrough for Mutai Amsterdam Marathon IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 Nakamara Ken amp Onishi Akihiro 2008 04 20 Kinyanjui Ivanova defend in Nagano IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 Butcher Pat 2009 10 05 Kirwa breaks course record with 2 06 14 in Frankfurt IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 Krishnan Ram Murali 2010 01 17 Ndiso and Urgesa take Mumbai titles IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 a b Sampaolo Diego 2010 03 21 Ethiopian double as Rome celebrates Bikila Rome Marathon report IAAF Retrieved on 2010 03 22 Ethiopian of the Millennium Nominees Ethiopian Millennium Retrieved on 2010 03 22 Butcher Pat 2010 10 24 Ethiopian Siraj takes victory in rain soaked Beijing IAAF Retrieved on 2010 10 23 Cartier Cyrille 2011 01 02 Kipchumba breaks course record at Xiamen Marathon IAAF Retrieved on 2011 01 02 Sampaolo Diego 2011 03 20 Dado takes third straight Rome title as Chumba surprises IAAF Retrieved on 2011 03 20 32nd GoteborgsVarvet Half Marathon 2011 Athlinks Retrieved on 2012 02 19 Butcher Pat 2012 10 30 Kipsang tantalises with 2 03 42 World record assault in Frankfurt IAAF Retrieved on 2012 02 19 35th Vodafone Istanbul Marathon 2013 Marathon Overall Results PDF Istanbul Marathon Archived from the original PDF on 2013 11 26 Retrieved 2013 11 23 Istanbul Marathon history Archived 2015 07 01 at the Wayback Machine Istanbul Marathon Retrieved on 2015 06 28 External links EditSiraj Gena at World Athletics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Siraj Gena amp oldid 1130044501, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
