Question 1

True or false: Bekele has never competed in a Diamond League event.

Accepted Answer

False. He frequently raced in Diamond League meets, including the 5000m and 10000m, winning multiple events like the Prefontaine Classic.

Question 2

True or false: Kenenisa Bekele won Olympic gold in the marathon in 2016.

Accepted Answer

False. He never won an Olympic marathon gold; Eliud Kipchoge won the 2016 marathon. Bekele's best Olympic marathon finish was 8th in 2012.

Question 3

True or false: Kenenisa Bekele once won both the 5000m and 10000m at the same Olympics twice.

Accepted Answer

True. He achieved this double at both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics, a rare feat.

Question 4

True or false: Bekele's first world record was in the 3000m steeplechase.

Accepted Answer

False. He never ran steeplechase; his first world record was the 5000m in 2004. He specialized in flat distance events.

Question 5

True or false: Kenenisa Bekele is the younger brother of fellow Olympic medalist Tariku Bekele.

Accepted Answer

False. Kenenisa is older than Tariku. Tariku, born in 1987, is a younger brother and also an Olympic medalist in the 10000m.

Question 6

True or false: Bekele's 5000m and 10000m world records remain unbroken as of 2025.

Accepted Answer

True. His 12:37.35 (5000m) and 26:17.53 (10000m) records, set in 2004-2005, still stand.

Question 7

True or false: Kenenisa Bekele is a five-time world champion in cross country running.

Accepted Answer

True. He won the IAAF World Cross Country Championships senior men's title five times consecutively from 2002 to 2006.

Question 8

True or false: Bekele once ran a marathon faster than his 10000m world record pace.

Accepted Answer

True. In 2019, he ran the Berlin Marathon in 2:01:41, averaging about 2:52 per km—faster than his 10000m pace per km.

Kenenisa Bekele Trivia Questions