Kenenisa finds happiness after tragedy

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian track heavyweight Kenenisa Bekele on Saturday married 22-year-old Dannawit Gebregziabher, an up-and-coming actress in Ethiopia's fledgling film industry.
Five hundred wellwishers, including fellow Ethiopian track star Haile Gebresellasie, joined the 10,000m world champion and world record holder and his bride at a plush ceremony in the Sheraton hotel.

Tragedy struck Bekele in January 2005 when his then fiancee Alem Techale, a world champion runner, died while they were out training together in the hills near the tiny trading post of Asela. An autopsy blamed a heart defect.


Bekele, 25, told local media that he would not compete in any more athletics meetings this year because of his marriage but would be ready for 2008 World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh next March.

Meanwhile, organizers of the 12th Wincanton Montferland Run, a 15-km race, announced November 14 that Haile Gebrselassie will take part in this year's race which is scheduled for Sunday 2 December 2007, according to the pro-government The Reporter.

The race is run over an undulating course in the eastern part of The Netherlands and is set to be the first race by the Ethiopian maestro since he smashed the World marathon record in Berlin on 30 September in a time of 2:04:26.

Haile intends to attack the course record which his held by compatriot Kenenisa Bekele, the triple World 10,000m champion, who ran 42:42 on the course in 2001. Another Ethiopian Deriba Merga last year missed the course record by a mere six seconds.