Posted: December 9, 2004

Athletics: Kenenisa Bekele to headline Reebok Boston Indoor Games

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Dec. 8) – World-record holder Kenenisa Bekele, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist at 10,000 meters, will compete at the 2005 Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Jan. 29, organizers announced today. It will be the first race ever in the United States for the phenomenal Ethiopian, who in 2004 rewrote the record books.

“If anyone will ever challenge Haile Gebrselassie to the title of greatest distance runner in history, it’s Kenenisa Bekele,” said Mark Wetmore, meet director and president of Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., in making the announcement. “To get Bekele here, in his prime, just a year after Gebrselassie says a lot about the respect athletes have for both the event and the Boston fans.”

Bekele agrees. “I am very excited to be coming to Boston for my first competition in your country,” he said. “Haile told me what great fans you have.”

Just 22, Bekele’s 2004 season was among the best in history for any track athlete. Already the reigning World Champion at 10,000m, he began his assault on the record books by breaking Gebrselassie’s world indoor record for 5000m (12:49.60). In March, he earned his third consecutive double victory, at both 4 kilometers and 12 kilometers, at the World Cross Country Championships, making him the most-decorated cross-country runner in history. Within nine days last summer, he broke two more of Gebrselassie’s world marks, 5000 meters (12:37.35) and 10,000 meters (26:20.31) before taking gold in Athens at 10,000m and silver at 5000m. His 27:05.10 at 10,000m was an Olympic record.

For his efforts, Bekele has been named male Athlete of the Year by the IAAF, the world’s governing body of track-and-field.

The 10th-annual Reebok Boston Indoor Games will be held at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College, 1350 Tremont St., Boston, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN on Jan. 30. It will be the first stop of the Visa Championship Series. Tickets are available on-line at www.BostonIndoorGames.com or by calling 1-866-GOBIG05.

The event website is at: www.BostonIndoorGames.com.