Wolde, Degaga

Wolde was born near Addis Ababa. He was orphaned as a young child and then brought up by his godfather in DreDele. As a young man he joined Emperor Haile Selassie's palace guard. He spent two years in Korea as part of the United Nations peace-keeping mission, and then returned to Ethiopia where he continued his athletics career.

He competed in the 1956, 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics, primarily in long-distance races, and won silver (10,000 meters) and gold (marathon) in Mexico City; his bronze at Munich (marathon) is still the only Olympic medal in running ever won by a man over 40.

Although closely associated with the emperor, after the Marxist coup of 1974 Wolde was still employed in the armed police of Ethiopia, but when that regime fell, he was charged with the l978 murder of a 15-year-old boy. He spent nine years in prison awaiting trial, and was convicted. He had already spent longer awaiting trial than his sentence, so he was released immediately, but died a few months later.

References

"Mamo Wolde." [Includes portrait]. Available at: http://www.ethiopians.com/mamo_wolde.htm
Mason, Nick. Obituary. The Guardian [London], 8 June 2002, p. 18