Venuste NIYONGABO

Venuste Niyongabo first came to international notice with an impressive debut at the 1992 World Junior Championships in Seoul, where he finished fourth in the 800m, and won the silver medal in the 1500m in 3min 38.59sec. The following year he competed in his first World Championships in Stuttgart, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1,500m. Niyongabo made rapid improvement during 1994 with a series of impressive wins and times at 1500m.

His most impressive victory was in the Dream Mile at the Bislett Games in Oslo, where he easily beat a high quality field in 3min 48.94sec. He continued this fine form in the 1500m during 1995 with more impressive wins, including a victory at the Bislett Games in Oslo in 3min 30.78sec. At the World Championships at Gothenburg on August 13, Niyongabo won the bronze medal in the 1500m behind Noureddine Morceli (Algeria) and the emerging Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco). Niyongabo also produced a sensational personal best of 4min 48.69sec over 2000m at Paris on 12 July. This time moved him to second on the all-time world list and was only 0.81sec slower than the world record set by Morceli only nine days earlier.

Although he was undoubtedly the third best 1,500m runner in the world in 1996, due to the dominance of Morceli and El Guerrouj, Niyongabo decided to move up to the 5,000m to maximise his chances of winning at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. It was obviously a wise decision, as, after qualifying easily in his heat on 1 August (see photo above), Niyongabo won the gold medal in the final two days later in 13min 07.96sec. This was his last major championships victory as he was plagued by a serious stress fracture in his foot in the seasons following the Olympics. (Ron Casey)