An Interview with Legendary Ethiopian Marathon Runner Belayneh Densamo

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Fana Broadcasting Corporate recently conducted an interview with Ethiopia‘s legendary marathon runner Belayneh Densamo. Densamo talked about how he first started running, his first international marathon race in Japan in 1986 where he finished second in 2:08.29, his victory in Rotterdam in 1988 where he broke the world record with a finishing time of 2:06.50 and how he held on to that record for 10 years and his disappointment of not running at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games , which Ethiopia and several other socialist countries boycotted.

Belayneh was born on June 28, 1965 in Diramo Afarrara, Sidamo. He held the world record in the marathon for 10 years (1988-1998). This was the third longest span without the record being broken since the event was first organized at the 1896 Olympics. The record was set when he ran 2:06:50 at the 1988 Rotterdam Marathon in the Netherlands. The record was eventually broken by Ronaldo da Costa at the Berlin Marathon in 1998.

Densamo currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

The interview was conducted in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia.