Sileshi Sihine

This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by their given name, Sileshi, and not as Sihine.

Sileshi Sihine (Amharic: ስለሺ ስህኔ; born 29 January 1983) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance runner.

Sileshi Sihine

Sileshi Sihine at a press conference at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
Personal information
Native name	ስለሺ ስህኔ
Nationality	Ethiopian
Born	(1983-01-29) 29 January 1983 (age 42) Sheno, Shewa, Ethiopia
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight	48 kg (106 lb)
Spouse	Tirunesh Dibaba ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	2
Sport
Country	Ethiopia
Sport	Men's athletics
Event(s)	10000 metres 5000 metres
Retired	2015
Medal record Olympic Games 2004 Athens 10,000 metres 2008 Beijing 10,000 metres World Championships 2005 Helsinki 5000 metres 2005 Helsinki 10,000 meters 2007 Osaka 10,000 metres 2003 Paris 10,000 metres World Cross Country Championships 2006 Fukuoka Long race 2004 Brussels Long race All-Africa Games 2003 Abuja 10000 m
President of Ethiopian Athletic Federation
In office 4 February 2015 – 6 November 2016
Succeeded by	Haile Gebrselassie

Sileshi won silver medals in the 10,000 metres at both the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as at the 2005 World Championships and 2007 World Championships as well as a bronze medal in 2003. He also picked up a silver medal in the 5,000 m event at the 2005 World Championships.

Career

Junior career

Sileshi began running at school, inspired by the achievements of compatriot Haile Gebrselassie.

After success at the junior level, he emerged as a leading senior athlete.

2002-2003

In cross country, he won the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños in 2002 and 2003.^[2]

Sileshi was one of three Ethiopians, along with Kenenisa Bekele and Gebrselassie, who swept the 10,000 metres gold, silver, and bronze medals at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. Sihine then won the 10,000 metres at the 2003 Afro-Asian Games.

2004

Sileshi won a bronze medal at the World Cross Country Championships. He also won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the Summer Olympic Gamess in Athens, behind Bekele.^[3][4][5]

2005

Sileshi won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres, behind Bekele, and the silver medal in the 5,000 metres at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

2006

At the World Cross Country Championships, Sileshi finished second behind Bekele.^[6]

2007

At the World Championships in Osaka, Sileshi took the silver medal in the 10,000 metres, again finishing behind Bekele.

2008

He yet again took a silver medal in the 10,000 metres behind Bekele at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

2011

In May, Sileshi finished fifth in the 5000 metres at the Samsung DL Golden Gala in Rome, Italy.^[7]

Nine days later at the Prefontaine Classic 10,000 metres in Eugene, Oregon, he finished in sixth place, 6.27 seconds behind winner Mohamed Farah.^[8]

Sileshi attempted his first marathon race at the Amsterdam Marathon, but dropped out after 36 kilometres.^[9]

2012

On 7 June, Sileshi finished seventh in the 5000 metres at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway.^[10] Two weeks later at a 10 kilometre road race in Birmingham, U.K., Sihine finished fourth, just 1.06 seconds behind Bekele, the winner.^[11]

2015

In February, he was elected president of the newly formed Ethiopian Athletics Association.^[12]

Personal life

In 2008, Sileshi is married to three-time Olympic champion athlete Tirunesh Dibaba. Their wedding was broadcast live on national television.^[13]

Achievements

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Ethiopia
2002	World Junior Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	2nd	10,000 metres	29:03.74
2003	World Championships	Paris, France	3rd	10,000 metres	27:01.44
	All-Africa Games	Abuja, Nigeria	1st	10,000 metres	27:42.13
	Afro-Asian Games	Hyderabad, India	1st	10,000 metres	27:48.40
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	2nd	10,000 metres	27:09.39
	IAAF World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	1st	5,000 metres	13:06.95
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	2nd	5,000 metres	13:32.81
			2nd	10,000 metres	27:08.87
	World Half Marathon Championships	Edmonton, Canada	4th	Half marathon	1:01:14
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	2nd	10,000 metres	27:09.03
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	2nd	10,000 metres	27:02.77

Personal bests

The following are his personal bests:^[14]

Surface	Event	Time (m:s)	Venue	Date
Outdoor track	3000 metres	7:29.92	Rieti, Italy	28 August 2005
	5000 metres	12:47.04	Rome, Italy	2 July 2004
	10,000 metres	26:39.69	Hengelo, Netherlands	31 May 2004
Road	10 kilometres	27:56	Nijmegen, Netherlands	21 November 2004
	15 kilometres	41:38	Nijmegen, Netherlands	21 November 2004
	20 kilometres	58:09	Edmonton, Canada	1 October 2005
	Half marathon	1:01:14	Edmonton, Canada	1 October 2005
Indoor	3000 metres	7;41.18	Stuttgart, Germany	31 January 2004
	Two miles	8:27.03	Boston, U.S.	28 January 2006
	5000 metres	13:06.72	Stockholm, Sweden	2 February 2006