- Vénuste Niyongabo
Vénuste Niyongabo (born
December 9 ,1973 ) is a middle distance runner fromBurundi . In 1996, he became the first Olympic champion from that nation by winning the 5,000 m at the1996 Summer Olympics . Remarkably, he had only competed twice before in that event prior to winning that title.A
Tutsi born inVugizo , southern Burundi, Niyongabo had his first in athletics when he won a silver medal in the 1,500 m at the 1992 World Junior Championships. He competed in his first senior tournament the following year, but was eliminated in the 1,500 m semi-finals of the World Championships inStuttgart . Niyongabo soon became one of the top 1500 m runners in the world, winning several major races in 1994 and 1995. He also won a bronze medal at the World Championships inGothenburg , finishing behindNoureddine Morceli andHicham El Guerrouj .For the 1996 Olympics, held in
Atlanta , Niyongabo was assumed to be a potential winner, but Niyongabo decided to forfeit his place to a compatriot,Dieudonné Kwizera . Kwizera had been unable to compete in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics since Burundi did not have a National Olympic Committee at the time, and was only in Atlanta as a coach. The move turned out to be a good one for both athletes; Kwizera finally became an Olympian, while Niyongabo sprinted away in the last lap of the 5,000 m final to win an unexpected gold medal.He also is the 6th fastest miler ever, his 3:46.70 being the 13th fastest ever, putting him behind only
Hicham El Guerrouj ,Noah Ngeny ,Noureddine Morceli ,Steve Cram , andDaniel Komen .After the Olympics, Niyongabo struggled with several injuries, and never achieved the same level of competition again. His attempt to defend his title at the
2000 Summer Olympics failed miserably, placing only 15th in his semi-final heat.Niyongabo currently (2005) works for the Ekin division of
Nike, Inc. in Italy. He ran on the elite Nike Bowerman International team in theHood to Coast Relay in 2005, which finished second in a field of 1062 teams.External links
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E4DF1E3FF937A3575BC0A960958260 "Burundi's First Olympics End With a Gold Medal"] , "New York Times", August 4, 1996
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