{"id":21937,"date":"2021-08-05T22:36:48","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T03:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=21937"},"modified":"2021-08-05T22:36:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T03:36:48","slug":"ethiopias-selemon-barega-wins-track-gold-places-1st-in-tokyo-olympics-mens-10000-meters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=21937","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia&#8217;s Selemon Barega wins track gold, PLACES 1ST IN  Tokyo Olympics men&#8217;s 10,000 meters"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"caas-header\">\n<header class=\"caas-title-wrapper\">\n<h1 data-test-locator=\"headline\">Ethiopia&#8217;s Barega wins 1st track gold of Tokyo Olympics<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"caas-body-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"caas-body-content\">\n<div class=\"caas-full-bleed\">\n<div id=\"s-0\" class=\"caas-carousel slideshowv2 caas-cover caas-cover-has-ads\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container\">\n<ul class=\"caas-carousel-slides\">\n<li class=\"caas-carousel-slide\">\n<div class=\"caas-carousel-slide-img\">\n<figure class=\"caas-carousel-figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/qCv0Bu57KoZO2XNAntlh_g--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/UuwjnpAtNo61.vW47lSPyg--~B\/aD0yODcwO3c9NDMwNTthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/146b9e16aaa98cfde9929a42e7591cb8\" alt=\"Selemon Barega, of Ethiopia, celebrates after winning the men's 10,000-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo\/Charlie Riedel)\" data-headline=\"Tokyo Olympics Athletics\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"caas-carousel-slide-bottom\">\n<div class=\"figure-meta\">\n<div class=\"slide-description-wrapper\">\n<h2 class=\"slide-description-headline\">Tokyo Olympics Athletics<\/h2>\n<div class=\"css-1dbjc4n r-18u37iz r-1wbh5a2\">\n<div class=\"css-901oao css-bfa6kz r-14j79pv r-18u37iz r-1qd0xha r-a023e6 r-16dba41 r-rjixqe r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\" dir=\"ltr\"><strong><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@SelemonBarega<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Selemon Barega won the first track and field gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday and claimed the 10,000-meter title back for Ethiopia after nearly a decade of dominance by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/olympics\/summer\/2016\/athletes\/_\/athlete\/20005\/mo-farah\">Mo Farah<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Barega broke clear on the last lap and won in 27 minutes, 43.22 seconds, upsetting world champion and world-record holder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/olympics\/summer\/2016\/athletes\/_\/athlete\/59330\/joshua-cheptegei\">Joshua Cheptegei<\/a> of Uganda, who took the silver medal in 27:43.63. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/olympics\/summer\/2016\/athletes\/_\/athlete\/60322\/jacob-kiplimo\">Jacob Kiplimo<\/a> of Uganda was third for bronze.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Barega&#8217;s last-lap burst was good enough as he moved out in front with about 300 meters to go and held off the late charge by the two Ugandans, who were expected to go 1-2 in the first track final of the Tokyo Games.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>For one moment it looked like Cheptegei might run Barega down on the home straight, but the Ethiopian dipped his head and dug in as Cheptegei&#8217;s challenge faded.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The 21-year-old Barega etched his name alongside Ethiopian greats <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/olympics\/summer\/2016\/athletes\/_\/athlete\/8695\/kenenisa-bekele\">Kenenisa Bekele<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/olympics\/summer\/2016\/athletes\/_\/athlete\/2383\/haile-gebrselassie\">Haile Gebrselassie<\/a>, who are maybe the country&#8217;s two greatest distance runners and who both won the 10,000 title at the Olympics &#8212; twice each.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Even in the future, I want to make history like my previous colleagues,&#8221; Barega said through a translator. &#8220;I&#8217;m also very hopeful to achieve more in this Olympics.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Barega is also planning to run in the 5,000.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cheptegei broke the world record in his last major 10,000-meter race in October and was seen as the best in the world coming into the Olympics. But he took a gamble by not running in any international races over the distance since that record-breaking run.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Kiplimo had the fastest time in the world this year and was expected to follow Cheptegei home.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Barega left them both behind.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;I had a little pressure because I&#8217;d never won an Olympic medal,&#8221; Cheptegei said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been having some challenges mentally, some challenges injury-wise. At one point I thought maybe I needed to refresh my mind and stay with family and wait until the next season. But if I had, I would not have the Olympic (silver) medal.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Barega had no major titles in the 10,000 before Friday, although he does have a world championship silver medal in the 5,000. His first 10,000 gold was the big one.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It was also a change of fortune for Barega, who said he had become deeply discouraged in recent months after spending a lot of the buildup to the Olympics training on his own because of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-300\">\n<div class=\"ad-center\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>The last Ethiopian to win the 10,000 at the Olympics was Bekele, who won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2008. Gebrselassie won in 1996 and 2000, giving Ethiopia four straight titles before Farah intruded.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Farah won gold at the last two Olympics but isn&#8217;t running in Tokyo after failing to make the British team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Olympic 10,000 has held a special place for the East African nation since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/olympics\/summer\/2016\/athletes\/_\/athlete\/2395\/miruts-yifter\">Miruts Yifter<\/a> first won it for Ethiopia in 1980.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On Friday, Barega won at a largely empty Olympic Stadium, but other Ethiopian athletes and team officials clapped and screamed loudly from the seats by the finish line as he came home first. He grabbed an Ethiopian flag and held it with both hands over his head as he trotted down the track.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The men&#8217;s 10,000 was the only medal event on the first day of track competition.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ov(h) Trs($adTranslate) HideBottomBar_H(0) Pos(r) Z(0)\">\n<div id=\"sda-LDRB2-9\" class=\" Mt(56px) Mb($articleAdMargin) Ta(c) LDRB2-9-status-unknown\">\n<div id=\"sda-LDRB2-9-iframe\">\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>Selemon Barega<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"vector-body\">\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-body-content mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<caption class=\"infobox-title\">\n<div class=\"fn\"><strong>Selemon Barega<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-image\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Bydgoszcz_2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships,_5000m_men_final11_23-07-2016.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1f\/Bydgoszcz_2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships%2C_5000m_men_final11_23-07-2016.jpg\/240px-Bydgoszcz_2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships%2C_5000m_men_final11_23-07-2016.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1f\/Bydgoszcz_2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships%2C_5000m_men_final11_23-07-2016.jpg\/360px-Bydgoszcz_2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships%2C_5000m_men_final11_23-07-2016.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/1f\/Bydgoszcz_2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships%2C_5000m_men_final11_23-07-2016.jpg\/480px-Bydgoszcz_2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships%2C_5000m_men_final11_23-07-2016.jpg 2x\" alt=\"Bydgoszcz 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships, 5000m men final11 23-07-2016.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" data-file-width=\"1440\" data-file-height=\"1080\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"infobox-caption\"><strong>Selemon Barega in 2016<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Personal information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Nationality<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data category\"><strong>Ethiopian<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>20 January 2000<span class=\"noprint ForceAgeToShow\"> (age\u00a021)<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span class=\"birthplace\"><a title=\"Gurage Zone\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gurage_Zone\">Gurage zone, Ethiopia<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Height<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>1.70\u00a0m (5\u00a0ft 7\u00a0in)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Weight<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>53\u00a0kg (117\u00a0lb)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Sport<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Country<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Ethiopia\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ethiopia\">Ethiopia<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Sport<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Sport of athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sport_of_athletics\">Athletics<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong><span class=\"nowrap\">Event(s)<\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"Long-distance running\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Long-distance_running\">Long-distance running<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Achievements and titles<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Personal <span class=\"nowrap\">best(s)<\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><a title=\"3000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/3000_metres\">3000 m<\/a>: 7:26.10i<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Two miles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Two_miles\">2 miles<\/a>: 8:08.69<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"5000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/5000_metres\">5000 m<\/a>: 12:43.02 <a title=\"List of world under-20 records in athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_world_under-20_records_in_athletics\">WJR<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"10,000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/10,000_metres\">10,000 m<\/a>: 26:49.46<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible\"><\/div>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible\">\n<div>\n<div><strong>Medal record<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mw-collapsible-content\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a title=\"Athletics at the Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athletics_at_the_Summer_Olympics\">Olympic Games<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/16px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/24px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/32px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"2020 Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_Summer_Olympics\">2020 Tokyo<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics \u2013 Men's 10,000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athletics_at_the_2020_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_10,000_metres\">10,000 m<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"IAAF World Athletics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IAAF_World_Athletics_Championships\">World Championships<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Silver medal \u2013 second place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/91\/Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg\/16px-Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/91\/Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg\/24px-Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/91\/Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg\/32px-Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Silver medal \u2013 second place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"2019 World Athletics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_World_Athletics_Championships\">2019 Doha<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2019 World Athletics Championships \u2013 Men's 5000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_World_Athletics_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_5000_metres\">5000 m<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"IAAF World Indoor Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships\">World Indoor Championships<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Silver medal \u2013 second place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/91\/Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg\/16px-Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/91\/Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg\/24px-Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/91\/Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg\/32px-Silver_medal_icon_%28S_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Silver medal \u2013 second place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships\">2018 Birmingham<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships \u2013 Men's 3000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2018_IAAF_World_Indoor_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_3000_metres\">3000 m<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"IAAF World U20 Championships in Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IAAF_World_U20_Championships_in_Athletics\">World Junior Championships<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/16px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/24px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/32px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"2016 World U20 Championships in Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_World_U20_Championships_in_Athletics\">2016 Bydgoszcz<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a title=\"2016 IAAF World U20 Championships \u2013 Men's 5000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_5000_metres\">5000\u00a0m<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th colspan=\"3\"><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a title=\"IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IAAF_World_Youth_Championships_in_Athletics\">World Youth Championships<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/16px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/24px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d5\/Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg\/32px-Gold_medal_icon_%28G_initial%29.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal \u2013 first place\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" data-file-width=\"16\" data-file-height=\"16\" \/><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><span class=\"nowrap\"><a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"2017 World Youth Championships in Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017_World_Youth_Championships_in_Athletics\">2017 Nairobi<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3000 m<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Selemon Barega Shirtaga (born 20 January 2000) is an Ethiopian <a title=\"Long-distance running\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Long-distance_running\">long-distance runner<\/a> who competes primarily in the <a title=\"5000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/5000_metres\">5000 metres<\/a> and <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/10,000_meters\">10,000 meters<\/a>.<sup id=\"cite_ref-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Selemon_Barega#cite_note-1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup> He won the gold medal at the <a title=\"Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics \u2013 Men's 10,000 metres\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Athletics_at_the_2020_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_10,000_metres\">10,000 m<\/a> at the <a title=\"2020 Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2020_Summer_Olympics\">2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics<\/a>. He represented his country at the <a title=\"2017 World Championships in Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017_World_Championships_in_Athletics\">2017 World Championships<\/a> finishing fifth in the final. He also won gold medals at the <a title=\"2016 IAAF World U20 Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_IAAF_World_U20_Championships\">2016 World U20 Championships<\/a> and <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"2017 World U18 Championships in Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017_World_U18_Championships_in_Athletics\">2017 World U18 Championships<\/a>. He won a silver medal in the men&#8217;s 5000 metres at the <a title=\"2019 World Athletics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2019_World_Athletics_Championships\">2019 World Athletics Championships<\/a> in Doha, Qatar.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ethiopia&#8217;s Barega wins 1st track gold of Tokyo Olympics Tokyo Olympics Athletics @SelemonBarega Selemon Barega won the first track and field gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday and claimed the 10,000-meter title back for Ethiopia after nearly a decade of dominance by Mo Farah. Barega broke clear on the last lap and won [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,11,8,1314,2432,1456,1156,13,14,1,1282,12,7,89,9,10],"tags":[4624,4626,4625],"class_list":["post-21937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-gamers","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-health","category-most-commented","category-news","category-olympics","category-scitech","category-sports","category-track-field","category-us","category-world","tag-selemonbarega","tag-5000m-men-final11-23-07-2016-jpg-selemon-barega-in-2016-personal-information-nationality-ethiopian-born-20-january-2000-age-21-gurage-zone","tag-selemon-barega-bydgoszcz-2016-iaaf-world-u20-championships","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}