What An Amazing Time To Celebrate Being Oromo -
Gadaa.com Editorial, August 2008
First, as we celebrate the achievements of Oromo medalists in the
men's and women's 5km and 10km races at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, let
us all also commend those Oromo athletes who participated at this
Olympic Games as the thrill of it is not only winning the medal, but also
having the chance to take part in the Olympics. All of the 2008 Oromo
Olympians have worked and trained so hard to be able to make it to the
Games. They have demonstrated exceptional dedication and vigor to be the
best of the best in the races they competed. It is these exemplary
achievements that we ought to celebrate today.
From Maryam Yusuf Jamal (previously Zenebech Tola of Ethiopia) of
Bahrain to almost all of the athletes of Ethiopia, the single
element that transcends the allegiances of these athletes is the fact
that all are Oromo. They have made the Oromo nation proud once
again. It does not matter which country's flag they drape with after
their victories; it does not matter whether they are activists for the
oppressed or not. What matters is no one (no one!) can take away the fact
that they are proud Oromos; what matters is they are the best of the
best in what they do:- long distance athletics. It is wrong and
arrogance to belittle
the tremendous achievements of these athletes because they are
apolitical (not political). It is totally wrong to not be proud of these
athletes because of the flags they wave after crossing the finishing
lines. They have earned the most prestigious and ultimate athletic
achievements - the Olympic medals; and they deserve respect and honor. Let us all cherish these victories by
Oromo children (ilma Oromoo) and celebrate being Oromo.
Kenya's long wait for a first Olympic marathon gold ended on Sunday when Sammy Wanjiru defied the heat of Beijing to triumph in an Olympic record two hours, six minutes, 32 seconds.
The 21-year-old was in the leading pack from the start, setting a fierce pace that quickly saw his opponents start to drop off, before making his decisive break soon after the 35km mark.
Morocco's Jaouad Gharib took silver in 2:07.16, with Tsegaye Kebede catching exhausted Ethiopian compatriot Deriba Merga on the final lap inside the Bird's Nest for bronze.
Read More.
- Tirunesh Dibaba broke the 10km Olympics record
& won the gold medal. 8/15/2008
Kenenisa took the gold in 10km & 5km, and broke the Olympic record in each race.
8/23/2008
T. Dibaba became the first woman to win the 5km & 10km races at
the same Olympics. 8/22/2008
- Kenenisa Bekele broke the 10km Olympics record & won the gold.
Sileshi took the silver. 8/17/08
Olympics Video Feed
Featured Oromo Olympian
Fatuma Roba - Olympic Medal: Gold at the 1996 /Atlanta/ Women's
Marathon
Born in 1973 and raised in the village of Bokeji in Ethiopia's mountainous southern region
- also home to internationally known 10K champion
Derartu
Tulu - Fatuma Roba, the first African woman to ever win an Olympic marathon, was one of seven children born to a farming couple who raised and herded cattle. Like most children growing up in rural Africa, if she wanted to go somewhere, the quickest way to get there was to run. The daily run to and from her school
- much of it going up and down hills - trained the young Roba in the art of sprinting. As a child her hero was 1960 and 1964 Olympic marathon champion
Abebe Bikila, a fellow Ethiopian. After completing school, the five-foot-five-inch Roba decided to train to become a police officer after her performance at a national cross-country championship caught the attention of members of the Addis Ababa prison police athletic team.
Roba first gained an international profile in 1990 when at age 18 she placed fourth in the 3,000 meter and 10K competition during the African Championships. Three years later she decided to attempt the 26.2-mile marathon distance in her home town of Addis Ababa, and had reached a personal best time of 2 hours 35 minutes 25 seconds by 1995. Roba continued to reduce her marathon time throughout the spring of 1996, helped along by the coaching of Yilma Berta. To train to excel at the 26.2-mile marathon distance, the 22-year-old Roba logged an average of 125 miles a week, most of it at high altitude, thereby forcing her body to use its resources of oxygen efficiently. She ran and won two marathons early in 1996, the first in January at Marakech and the second in Rome, Italy, two months later.
When Roba joined the field of the 1996 Olympic women's marathon in Atlanta, Georgia, in July of 1996, she was ranked only 29th among the elite women athletes assembled there. Surprising almost all onlookers of that years' Summer Games, she managed consistent five-minute miles, gained the lead by mile 13, and left behind Japanese runner Yuko Arimori, who had won the silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. At mile 19 timers clocked her race pace at 5:21; relaxed and alert, Roba waved as she passed, the crowds cheering on the first woman in the pack. She went on to cross the line in 2:26:05, her lead a remarkable two minutes. "This is not only a special thing for me but also for my country and all African women," Roba was quoted as commenting by Amanda Mays in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"The Ethiopian women are coming up in the marathon. This was the
breakthrough and now we are ready to challenge the others." Source
Kenya's long wait for a first Olympic marathon gold ended on Sunday when Sammy Wanjiru defied the heat of Beijing to triumph in an Olympic record two hours, six minutes, 32 seconds.
The 21-year-old was in the leading pack from the start, setting a fierce pace that quickly saw his opponents start to drop off, before making his decisive break soon after the 35km mark.
Morocco's Jaouad Gharib took silver in 2:07.16, with Tsegaye Kebede catching exhausted Ethiopian compatriot Deriba Merga on the final lap inside the Bird's Nest for bronze.
Born in 1973 and raised in the village of Bokeji in Ethiopia's mountainous southern region
- also home to internationally known 10K champion
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