Tariku Bekele

Tariku Bekele

Tariku Bekele at the 2008 World Indoor Championships
Personal information
Born	(1987-02-28) 28 February 1987 (age 29) Bekoji (woreda), Ethiopia
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Track, Long-distance running
Event(s)	3000 metres, 5000 metres, 10,000 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	3000 metres: 7:28.70 2-mile: 8:04.83 5000 metres: 12:52.45 10,000 metres: 27:03.24
Medal record Representing  Ethiopia Men's athletics Olympic Games 2012 London 10,000 m World Indoor Championships 2008 Valencia 3000 m World Junior Championships 2006 Beijing 5000 m 2004 Grosseto 5000 m World Youth Championships 2003 Sherbrooke 3000 m World Cross Country Championships 2006 Fukuoka Junior race

Tariku Bekele (Amharic: ታሪኩ በቀለ; born 28 February 1987) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres and has moved up to 10000 metres as well. He is the younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele. He is the fourth fastest Ethiopian ever over 5000 m and 3000 metres. His indoor 3000 m best of 7:31.09 ranks him as the ninth fastest of all-time in the event. He was the 10,000 m bronze medallist at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

His first major victory came at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, where he won the 3000 m gold medal. He was the 2006 World Junior Champion over the distance and also won a cross country junior bronze medal that year. He took a continental silver medal at the 2007 All-Africa Games. Tariku has finished in the top eight of 5000 m finals at the 2008 Summer Olympics and at the World Championships in Athletics in 2005 and 2007.

Following the footsteps of his older brother, he first had success at the younger levels of the sport. He won the 3000 m silver medal behind Augustine Choge at the 2003 World Youth Championships in Athletics and stepped up a distance to take the bronze medal over 5000 m at the 2004 World Junior Championships a year later. He beat Paul Tergat in the 2004 Oeiras International Cross Country meeting.