The list is dominated by
1. Kenenisa Bekele
He is another accomplished Ethiopian long distance runner. He holds the world and Olympic record in 5,000 metres as well as 10,000 metres events. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Bekele won gold in 10, 000 metres and crowned it with double gold medals in 10,000 metres and 5,000 metres events at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
2. Abebe Bikila
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The Ethiopian Olympic marathon champion at the Rome Olympics and retained it in Tokyo 4 years later in world record time. Abebe Bikila in 1960 defied the wearing of shoes when he rejected a shoe he wasn’t comfortable with from his sponsors and ran with bare feet through the streets of Rome. He thrilled the large crowd that watched the race, perhaps the only people who were not impressed were the manufacturers of shoes because he proofed bare feet were better than shoes.
He returned to action in 1964, this time at age 32 and retained his title in Tokyo in a new Olympic record time 2: 12: 11. No one has since won the marathon in back to back Olympics, since Bikila in 1964
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3. Trunesh Dibaba Kenene
The Ethiopian long distance queen is the current world and Olympic record holder in 10, 000 and the world record holder in 5,000. He won double gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and has won three Olympic gold in all.
4. David Rudisha
The Ethiopian is the most prolific middle distance runner the world has ever seen. He is the current Olympic record holder in 800 metres. He won a record of three successive Track and Field athlete of the year.
5. Meseret Defar Tola
She is a renowned Ethiopian long distance runner. Tola won gold at the 2004 and 2012 summer Olympics. She was until recently the world record holder in 5,000. Her record was broken by Dibaba.
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6. Ezekiel Kemboi
The Kenyan won Olympic gold in 3,000 steeplechases at the 2004 and 2012. Kemboi has also excelled in the World Championship, making him one of the three athletes to have won the world and Olympic golds in the event.
7. Cameron Van Der Burgh
The celebrated South African swimmer excels in an event few Africans have made little impact. He was the first African to break a world record when he won gold in 100 metres breaststroke at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
8. Haile Gebrselassie
He is widely regarded as the greatest long-distance runner in history, as he broke 61 Ethiopian national records ranging from 800 metres to the marathon, set 27 world records. He could only bag two Olympic gold, hence in the pecking order, he is going to trail several Olympic athletes.
Haile had major competition wins at distances between 1500 metres and the marathon, moving from outdoor, indoor and cross country running to road running in the latter part of his career
He won gold in 10,000 metres at both Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
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9. Tiki Gelana
The Ethiopian shuttered the marathon world record at the 2012 Olympic with a time of 2:23: 7 He is expected to reign for at least the next 4 years by that time she will be 30 years.
10. Nawal El Moutawakel
She won 400 metres hurdles gold. The first African woman and the first female muslim to win an Olympic Gold medal. She achieved that feat in 1984 in Los Angeles.