Jimma Times

Kenenisa Bekele saved Ethiopia and won the men's 5,000 metres final during the world athletics championships at the Olympic stadium in Berlin. He became the first man to win the 5000-10000 meters double at the world championships. His win Sunday salvaged a disappointing Ethiopian women's performance during the championships and surged Ethiopia up the medal table standings.

The Oromia-native Kenenisa finished the 5000m in a time of 13 minutes and 17.09 seconds and defeated his Kenyan-American rival Bernard Lagat. The race began slowly but Kenenisa outsprinted Lagat and other Kenyans in the last meters.

"I knew he (Lagat) could not beat me at this race," said Kenenisa, chest-pumping and waving to the crowd.

Kenenisa is the world record holder in the 5000 meters, which he ran in 12 minutes and 37.35 seconds. He is also a world record holder in the 10,000 meters, the 2 mile indoors and the 5k indoors.

Kenenisa has piled up several medals in many events during his career. He is a triple Olympic champion and has won the 10k in a record four times at the World championships. Over the years, he has also won gold in the shorter 1,500 and 3,000m races. His greatness has not been limited on the track however, as Kenenisa is also the most accomplished runner in the history of IAAF World Cross Country Championships by winning six long and five short XC courses.

The 27-year old Kenenisa, who won gold in the 10,000 on Tuesday this week over Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese, was being compared with the Jamaican great sprinter Usain Bolt for the title of the greatest athlete in history. Both Kenenisa and Bolt have now won two individual gold medals in Berlin but western media's better portrayal of the Jamaican sprinter has created new debates about which legend should be crowned as the greatest athlete of all time.

Kenenisa has more Olympic individual gold titles than the Jamaican runner Usain Bolt. The Jamaican won his 100m race with a margin of 0.1 seconds and most Ethiopians believe the endurance testing middle-distance events can not be compared with the drug abuse-plagued sprinting events like 100 meters and 200 meters. Kenenisa has won several golds and set world records much more comfortably compared to the Jamaican. 

.

"In my event, no one has been able to do what I have done. I have done all that a man can possible manage in his career. Therefore, yes, I do consider myself as the greatest of all time," he added.

The Ethiopian team in Berlin ended up in 7th place in the world medal table standing, mostly due to Kenenisa's two golds, as the Ethiopian great women runners Meseret Defar and Meselech Melkamu provided disappointing performances throughout the week. The 1,500m favorite Gelete Burka of Ethiopia also lost on Sunday. The other top Ethiopian runners and Olympic winners Tirunesh Dibaba, Haile Gebreselassie and Sileshi Sihine did not participate in Berlin.

But the Ethiopian team managed to relatively recover with Eight medals total in Berlin as the young Aselefech Mergia (women Marathon bronze) and Deresse Mekonnen (men 1,500 silver) gave surprising performances.

• Video Kenenisa wins 5,000 and 10,000 in Berlin