Kenenisa Bekele - Net Worth, Age, Height, Birthday, Bio, Wiki!
Robert Clark
Updated on January 08, 2026
Explore Kenenisa Bekele net worth, age, height, bio, birthday, wiki, and salary! Ethiopian record-holding long-distance runner who is a two-time 10,000 m gold medalist. He also won the 5,000 m race in Beijing in 2012. In this article, we will discover how old is Kenenisa Bekele? Who is Kenenisa Bekele dating now & how much money does Kenenisa Bekele have?
| Name | Kenenisa Bekele |
| First Name | Kenenisa |
| Last Name | Bekele |
| Occupation | Runner |
| Birthday | June 13 |
| Birth Year | 1982 |
| Place of Birth | Ethiopia |
| Home Town | |
| Birth Country | Ethiopia |
| Birth Sign | Gemini |
| Full/Birth Name | |
| Parents | Kuli Megerssa, Bekele Bayicha |
| Siblings | Tariku Bekele |
| Spouse | Danawit Gebregziabher |
| Children(s) | Not Available |
Kenenisa Bekele Biography
Kenenisa Bekele is one of the most popular and richest Runner who was born on June 13, 1982 in Ethiopia, Ethiopia. He was long-distance running’s premier athlete; a title that has since been taken by Mo Farah .
Kenenisa Bekele (Oromo: Qananiisaa baqqalaa; Amharic: ቀነኒሳ በቀለ ; born 13 June 1982) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the current world record and Olympic record holder in both the 5000-metre and 10,000-metre events. He won the gold medal in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. At the 2004 Olympics he won the gold medal in the 10,000 m and the silver medal in the 5000 m.
He has faced fellow Ethiopian, Haile Gebrselassie, twice in road competition, once in cross country, and six times on the track. Haile defeated Kenenisa on the track in the 2000 Nurnberg 5000 metres, the 2001 Great Ethiopian Run 10 km, and the Cross de l’Acier in December 2001, but lost to Kenenisa in Hengelo 2003 over 10,000 m (26:53 to 26:54), Rome 2003 over 5000 m (12:57 to 13:00), Paris 2003 World Championships over 10,000 m (26:49 to 26:50), Athens 2004 Olympic Games (27:05 to 27:27), in the 10,000 m in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (27:01 to 27:06), and in the Great North Run half marathon in September 2013 (60:09 to 60:41).
He married Danawit Gebregziabher and has a sister Tariku.
He won 5 World Championship gold medals between 2003 and 2009.
Kenenisa Bekele was born in 1982 at Bekoji, Arsi Zone, the same town as the Dibaba sisters (Ejegayehu, Tirunesh and Genzebe) and their cousin Derartu Tulu.
Kenenisa Bekele Net Worth
Kenenisa is one of the richest Runner from Ethiopia. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Kenenisa Bekele's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: January 13, 2024)
He broke the 3,000 meter junior world record at age 19.
| Net Worth | $5 Million |
| Salary | Under Review |
| Source of Income | Runner |
| Cars | Not Available |
| House | Living in own house. |
Kenenisa is renowned for his ability to accelerate very quickly at the end of a long distance race; in Oslo in June 2003, he chased after Kenyan Abraham Chebii and won the race in 12:52.26.
He is the most successful runner in the history of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, with six long (12 km) course and five short (4 km) course titles. He won the 10,000 m title at the World Championships in Athletics in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 (matching Haile Gebrselassie’s four in a row win streak). Kenenisa was unbeaten over 10,000 m from his debut in 2003 until 2011, when he failed to finish at the World Championships final.
Ethnicity, religion & political views
Many peoples want to know what is Kenenisa Bekele ethnicity, nationality, Ancestry & Race? Let's check it out! As per public resource, IMDb & Wikipedia, Kenenisa Bekele's ethnicity is Not Known. We will update Kenenisa Bekele's religion & political views in this article. Please check the article again after few days.
For five years in a row, from 2002 (at the age of 19) through 2006, he took both short (4 k m) and long (12 k m) races at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, a feat no other runner has accomplished even once. After the IAAF eliminated the short course race in 2007, Kenenisa won a final long course race in 2008, bringing his World Cross Country medal totals to 11 senior individual gold medals (6 long course, 5 short course), 1 senior silver medal (2001), 1 junior gold medal (2001), 2 team gold medals (2004, 2005), 3 team silver medals (2002, 2003, & 2008), and 1 team bronze medal (2006) for a grand total of 19 medals.
Who is Kenenisa Bekele Dating?
According to our records, Kenenisa Bekele married to Danawit Gebregziabher . As of January 13, 2024, Kenenisa Bekele’s is not dating anyone.
Relationships Record: We have no records of past relationships for Kenenisa Bekele. You may help us to build the dating records for Kenenisa Bekele!In 2004, he broke the world records for the indoor 5000 m, outdoor 5000 m and outdoor 10,000 m (both in a timeframe of 9 days). He won the short and long course world cross country titles, leading Ethiopia to the senior men’s team title. He also won a gold medal in the men’s 10,000 metres and a silver medal in the men’s 5000 metres in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Height, Weight & Body Measurements
Kenenisa Bekele height 5 ft 5 in Kenenisa weight Not Known & body measurements will update soon.
| Height | 5 ft 5 in |
| Weight | Not Known |
| Body Measurements | Under Review |
| Eye Color | Not Available |
| Hair Color | Not Available |
| Feet/Shoe Size | Not Available |
In March 2001, he won the IAAF World Junior Cross Country title by a full 33 seconds. Five months later, in August 2001, he set a new 3000 metres world junior record, 7:30.67 minutes in Brussels. The record lasted for three and a half years, being broken by Augustine Choge with a run of 7:28.78 minutes. In December 2000 and 2001 Kenenisa won the 15k roadrace Montferland Run in the Netherlands.
On 26 August 2005, Kenenisa set the current 10,000 m world record 26:17.53 at the 29th Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels, slicing nearly three seconds off his previous world record 26:20.31, and running with 5000 m splits of 13:09 and 13:08 minutes. The race saw 6 runners finishing in less than 27 minutes, with Sammy Wanjiru dipping in 26:41.75, a new world junior record. At the end of 2005 Kenenisa was voted the Track & Field News magazine athlete of the year for the second year in a row.
Facts & Trivia
Kenenisa Ranked on the list of most popular Runner. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Ethiopia. Kenenisa Bekele celebrates birthday on June 13 of every year.
On 8 August 2005, Kenenisa Bekele won the gold medal in the 10,000 m at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki with a stunning last 200 m spurt.
Does Kenenisa Bekele still run?
| World Championships |
| 5 |
| 0 |
| 1 |
Who is the fastest runner in Ethiopia?
| Nationality | Ethiopian |
| Born | 18 April 1973 Asella, Arsi Province, Ethiopian Empire |
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 54 kg (119 lb) |
When did Kenenisa Bekele start running?
Bekele attended school through the ninth grade, and it was at school that he was introduced to running. He finished fourth in his first race, but in 1998 he won a provincial cross-country title and placed sixth in the Ethiopian junior championships.
How old is Kenenisa Bekele?
40 years (June 13, 1982)
Why is Ethiopia so good at running?
Several factors have been proposed to explain the extraordinary success of the Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners, including (1) genetic predisposition, (2) development of a high maximal oxygen uptake as a result of extensive walking and running at an early age, (3) relatively high hemoglobin and hematocrit, (4) …
You may read full biography about Kenenisa Bekele from Wikipedia.
