Abebe Bikila 1960, 64& Feyisa Lilesa 2016

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Saturday, August 13, 2016

Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana smashes women's 10,000m world at Rio 2016






By Matthew Knight, CNN
Updated 1540 GMT (2340 HKT) August 12, 2016
Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana celebrates winning the women's 10,000m final.
Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana celebrates winning the women's 10,000m final.

Story highlights

  • Ethiopian smashes 10,000m world record
  • Almaz Ayana bests 1993 mark by 14 seconds
(CNN)The Rio Olympics track and field competition has barely started but we already have a new world record in the women's 10,000 meters final.
Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana stunned spectators at Rio's Olympic Stadium on Friday crossing the line in a time of 29 minutes, 17.45 seconds, smashing a record that has stood for nearly 23 years.
    Ayana, the reigning world 5,000m champion, obliterated the field taking 14 seconds off the previous best set by China's Junxia Wang in September 1993.
    Time in Rio14:17:31
    Weather in Rio24°
    Country medal ranking
    CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
    USA
    21141752
    CHN
    13101639
    GBR
    810624
    SUI
    2013
    The 24-year-old Ayana was followed home by Kenya's Vivian Cheriot with London 2012 champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia taking bronze.
    READ MORE: Rio Olympics 2016 -- Where is everyone?
    A further two gold medals will be decided on the opening day of track and field -- the men's 20 kilometers walk and women's shot put.



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    REVEALED: Ethiopian 'whale' swimmer is son of swimming federation boss — RT Sport

    Robel Kiros Habte of Ethiopia © Dominic Ebenbichler
    Robel Kiros Habte of Ethiopia © Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters
    Olympic swimmer Robel Kiros Habte gained internet fame for his portly build and agonizingly slow qualifying time.
    Habte finished dead last from 59 swimmers in the men’s 100m freestyle qualifying, and a huge 17 seconds behind the winner in his three-man swim sprint, posting a time of 64.95 seconds.
    The 24-year-old college student’s performance has split opinion online, with some affectionately dubbing him “The Whale”due to his generously rounded stomach in a pool of chiseled abs, and others insisting he should be in better shape as an Olympic athlete so as not to “embarrass” his nation.






    View image on TwitterView image on Twitter




    Robel The Whale @RobelWhale
    You vs the guy she told you not to worry about
    5:11 AM - 12 Aug 2016
    Now the internet storm is likely to be cranked up a few notches, with news surfacing that Habte is the son of Ethiopia Swimming Federation boss Kiros Habte.
    Tipping the scales at 82kgs, Robel blamed his portly form on a car accident which sidelined him for two months and claimed his inability to train forced him to balloon in weight to 120kg.
    He also said his preparations had been hindered by the lack of an Olympic-size swimming pool in his landlocked homeland, which is famed for its long-distance runners.




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    Wednesday, August 10, 2016

    Tubby Ethiopian swimmer Robel Kiros Habte becomes world's favourite athlete of the 2016 Olympics - Mirror Online



    • UPDATED 
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    He's the most unlikely Olympian in Brazil… but that's exactly why everyone loves the swimmer with the 'dad bod'

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    Who's your favourite athlete competing at 2016 Olympics?
    Usain Bolt? Michael Phelps? Jessica Ennis?
    Wrong, wrong and wrong. Take a look at the clip above and we GUARANTEE your new favourite person at the Rio Games will be Ethiopian swimmer Robel Kiros Habte.
    The footage shows Habte giving his all during the heats of the 100m freestyle. This picture of him on the blocks should give you some idea how he got on:


    REUTERSRobel Kiros Habte of Ethiopia competes
    A fine figure of a man






    Sure enough, Habte didn't win the race. In fact, Habte ended up so far behind his fellow competitors, it almost seemed like he was competing in an entirely different sport.
    Our man clocked a time of 64.95 seconds in the three-man heat - a massive SEVENTEEN seconds behind Australian pacesetter Kyle Chalmers (47.90).






    GettyRobel Kiros Habte of Ethiopia competes
    REUTERS


    The 24 year-old - who weights in at a pretty hefty 12.5 stone - finished 59th out of the 59 swimmers in the heats.
    And the effort he put in, combined with his uniquely wonderful 'dad bod', saw him get an amazing reception:




    Mind you, as that tweet from journalist Jai Bednall reminds us, Habte is far from the most unlikely swimmer seen at an Olympics.




    Remember Eric "The Eel" Moussambani, the guy from Equatorial Guinea who decided to give swimming a go at the 2000 Sydney Olympics?






    REUTERS
    GettyEric ''the Eel'' Moussambani
    Eric ''the Eel'' Moussambani


    Moussambani became a global star after he took a remarkable 1min 52.72sec to complete the same 100m freestyle event as Habte - nearly 50 seconds LONGER than the Ethiopian.
    Relive that glorious moment here:

    Rio 2016 Olympics

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