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.
wodajo, bulti, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, december, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Wodajo Bulti news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 EditWodajo 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 EditYear Competition Venue Position Event NotesRepresenting Ethiopia1982 World Cross Country Championships Rome Italy 12th Long race1st TeamAfrican Championships Cairo Egypt 3rd 1500 m1st 5000 m1983 World Cross Country Championships Gateshead United Kingdom 20th Long race1st TeamWorld Championships Helsinki Finland 7th 5000 m1984 World Cross Country Championships New York City United States 1st TeamFriendship Games Moscow Soviet Union 3rd 5000 m 13 29 082nd 10 000 m 27 58 971985 World Cross Country Championships Lisbon Portugal 3rd Long race1st TeamAfrican Championships Cairo Egypt 1st 5000 m1st 10 000 mWorld Cup Canberra Australia 3rd 5000 m1st 10 000 m1986 World Cross Country Championships Neuchatel Switzerland 2nd Team1987 World Cross Country Championships Warsaw Poland 3rd TeamWorld Championships Rome Italy 24th 10 000 mExternal links EditWodajo Bulti at World Athletics This biographical article relating to Ethiopian athletics is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wodajo Bulti amp oldid 1132167441, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
