# Mohamed Kedir
**Mohamed Kedir** (born 1953) is a retired Ethiopian long-distance runner who won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and the world cross-country title in 1982.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) • [2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/67411) He competed for Ethiopia in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, and most of his major honors came in the longer of the two events.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) A few databases list his birth year as 1954, but [World Athletics](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-athletics) and Olympedia both record 18 September 1953.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) • [3](https://elitetrackr.com/athletes/mohamed-kedir-533)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953, Ethiopia[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) |
| Olympic medal | Bronze, men's 10,000 m, 1980 Moscow Games, 27:44.7[4](https://www.olympedia.org/results/62252?id=60598) |
| Personal bests | 5,000 m 13:17.5h (7 June 1980); 10,000 m 27:39.44 (4 September 1981)[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) |
| Cross country | World Cross Country champion (1982); silver medallist at the 1981 World Cross Country Championships[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) • [5](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/mohamed-kedir) |
| World Cup | Silver, 10,000 m, 1981 IAAF World Cup, 27:39.44[5](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/mohamed-kedir) |
| Affiliation | Ethiopian National Defense Force; listed at 166 cm and 45 kg[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/67411) |
| Last major competition | 1986 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, 36:33.5[3](https://elitetrackr.com/athletes/mohamed-kedir-533) |
## Background
Kedir's career began in the Ethiopian army, an institution that trained him as an athlete as well as a soldier and that produced much of Ethiopia's distance-running success in that era.[6](https://www.ethiopians.com/rest_of_the_pack.htm) Olympedia records his affiliation as the [Ethiopian National Defense Force](https://www.edgepedia.org/ethiopian-national-defense-force) and lists him at 166 cm and 45 kg, a slight build typical of the elite distance runners of the period.[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/67411)
## The 1980 Moscow Olympics
At the 1980 Games, held in Moscow, Kedir ran both long-distance track events. In the 5,000 meters he finished 12th in a final won by his compatriot [Miruts Yifter](https://www.edgepedia.org/miruts-yifter).[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/67411) The 10,000 meters, contested from 24 to 27 July 1980 before 40 runners from 26 countries, came down to a team race between Ethiopia and Finland.[4](https://www.olympedia.org/results/62252?id=60598)
Kedir won the first of the three heats in 28:16.38, the fastest time of the opening round.[4](https://www.olympedia.org/results/62252?id=60598) In the final he ran near the front for much of the race, leading at the 4,000, 5,000, 6,000, 8,000, and 9,000 meter split points.[4](https://www.olympedia.org/results/62252?id=60598) He passed the two-time defending champion Lasse Virén of Finland shortly before the bell, but with 300 meters left Yifter used his finishing speed to pull away and take gold with a 54.9 final lap. Kaarlo Maaninka of Finland took silver in 27:44.3, and Kedir held third in 27:44.7, with a fourth Ethiopian, Tolossa Kotu, just behind in fourth.[4](https://www.olympedia.org/results/62252?id=60598) A French results archive records the same finishing order, with Kedir at 27'44"64.[7](https://www.lequipe.fr/Athletisme/jeux-olympiques/annee-1980/page-calendrier-resultats/10000m-hommes)
Kedir also played a supporting role in Yifter's 5,000 meter victory: as they entered the last lap, Yifter was boxed in, and his younger teammate stepped aside to let him through.[8](https://aims-worldrunning.org/articles/557-miruts-yifter.html)
## Cross country and later career
**World cross-country honors.** At the 1981 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Kedir took the individual silver medal in the senior men's race, running 35:07 to finish two seconds behind the American Craig Virgin at 35:05.[5](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/mohamed-kedir) He was also part of the Ethiopian squad that won the team gold at that championship in Madrid, a group that included Miruts Yifter, Eshetu Tura, and Tolossa Kotu. The team's bright green running jerseys and collective racing style earned the generation the nickname the "Green Flood".[9](https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/3877/) In 1982 he went one better and won the world cross-country title, and World Athletics lists him as a World Cross Country champion and a Championships silver medallist.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) • [8](https://aims-worldrunning.org/articles/557-miruts-yifter.html)
**Track and continental titles.** In September 1981, at the IAAF World Cup in Rome, Kedir ran his personal best of 27:39.44 in the 10,000 meters, taking silver behind Werner Schildhauer of East Germany, who ran 27:38.43.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755) • [5](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/mohamed-kedir) At the 1982 African Championships in Athletics he won the 10,000 meters in 28:55.5, a championship record, ahead of Kenya's Erastus Kemei.[5](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/mohamed-kedir)
**1983 to 1986.** At the inaugural 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, Kedir qualified for the 10,000 meters final and finished ninth in 28:09.92, while he did not start in the 5,000 meters.[5](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/mohamed-kedir) His season bests show continued competition through the mid-1980s, including 27:57.09 for 10,000 m in 1984 and a 17th-place run of 34:06 at the 1984 World Cross Country Championships.[3](https://elitetrackr.com/athletes/mohamed-kedir-533) His last recorded major competition was the 1986 World Cross Country Championships, where he ran 36:33.5.[3](https://elitetrackr.com/athletes/mohamed-kedir-533)
## Place in Ethiopian running
Kedir's bronze came at the high point of early-1980s Ethiopian distance running, when Miruts Yifter completed the 5,000 and 10,000 meter double at Moscow and Kedir added the 10,000 meter bronze for the same country.[10](https://www.hailemarathon.com/heritage.php) Retrospective accounts describe him as Yifter's protégé and as an Olympic and World Cup medallist who stood alongside the era's leading Ethiopian runners.[8](https://aims-worldrunning.org/articles/557-miruts-yifter.html) His 27:39.44 personal best remains among the faster marks ever recorded for the distance by an Ethiopian of his generation.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755)
## References
1. [Mohamed KEDIR, Profile, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14353755)
2. [Olympedia, Mohamed Kedir](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/67411)
3. [Mohamed Kedir (ETH), Elite Trackr](https://elitetrackr.com/athletes/mohamed-kedir-533)
4. [Olympedia, 10,000 metres, Men, 1980](https://www.olympedia.org/results/62252?id=60598)
5. [Reference for MOHAMED KEDIR, The Names Dictionary](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/mohamed-kedir)
6. [The Rest of the Pack, Ethiopian Athletes](https://www.ethiopians.com/rest_of_the_pack.htm)
7. [Athlétisme aux JO de Moscou 1980, 10000m hommes, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/Athletisme/jeux-olympiques/annee-1980/page-calendrier-resultats/10000m-hommes)
8. [Miruts Yifter, Lives remembered, Distance Running magazine 2017](https://aims-worldrunning.org/articles/557-miruts-yifter.html)
9. [The Road To Rio, The Reporter Ethiopia](https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/3877/)
10. [Running Heritage, Haile Gebrselassie Marathon](https://www.hailemarathon.com/heritage.php)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Athletes of track and field and road running › Middle and long-distance track runners › Ethiopian long-distance runners*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license