Fita Bayisa

Fita Bayisa
Personal information
BornDecember 15, 1972
Medal record
Men's Athletics
Representing  Ethiopia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona 5000 metres
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1991 Tokyo 5000 m
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Stuttgart 5000 m
All-Africa Games
Gold medal – first place 1991 Cairo 5000 m
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1990 Plovdiv 5000 m

Fita Bayisa (Amharic: ፊጣ ባይሳ; born December 15, 1972, in Ambo, Oromia)[1] is an Ethiopian long-distance runner, best known for winning a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres event at the 1992 Summer Olympics. A year earlier, he had won a silver medal at the World Championships in Tokyo. Before the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Bayisa had emerged as the favourite for 10,000 metres, as he had defeated a world-class field at the Bislett Games in Oslo in a time of 27:14.26 min. However, he failed to make an impact on the 10,000 m final, which was won by Khalid Skah.

Among his other achievements, he was the winner of the 1999 Belgrade Race Through History. He beat Paul Tergat by a second in the unusual race across Belgrade's city fortress.[2]

Bayisa was the flag bearer for Ethiopia in the Atlanta 1996 opening ceremony.[3]

  1. ^ Sports Reference Database - Fita Bayisa Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Butcher, Pat (1999-10-13). Fita Bayissa wins Belgrade Race Through History. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-10-15.
  3. ^ "Flagbearers for Ethiopia". olympedia.org. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 19 December 2023.