Middle distance great Miruts Yifter dies in Canada
By Andy Swales
Last Updated: 23/12/16 1:47pm
Miruts Yifter, one of the greatest middle distance runners of all time, has died at the age of 72 in Canada.
The Ethiopian was a double gold medallist at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, winning both the 5,000m and 10,000m in the Russian capital.
Often referred to as 'Yifter the Shifter', he died from respiratory problems in Toronto.
He first came to international prominence at the Munich Olympics of 1972 when he claimed a bronze over 10,000m.
Yifter would have been one of the favourites for gold four years later - over both 5,000 and 10,000 - had his country not been one of 29 nations to boycott the Montreal Games in protest at the IOC's refusal to ban New Zealand.
Many countries, mainly African, were unhappy that New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team had toured apartheid South Africa in 1976.
Despite this setback, Yifter continued to be a dominant force in athletics, enjoying victories over both his main distances at the World Cup meetings of 1977 and 1979.
He inspired a generation of African runners, including the great Haile Gebreselassie, who admitted: "Miruts has been everything to me and my athletics career.
"When I started running, I just wanted to be like him. He is the reason for who I'm now and for what I have achieved.
"For me, he is the best athlete Ethiopia ever had, after the great Abebe Bikila."
Yifter's date of birth was a popular topic of conversation during his career, with many suspecting he was older than his official age.
Officially, he was 36 when winning double Olympic gold, although some believed he was already in his 40s.
In 1977 he also ran a world best for the half-marathon and emigrated to Canada 16 years ago.
His family has called on all Ethiopians to give him a heroic welcome when his body arrives for burial in Addis Ababa next week.
He has seven children, most of whom live outside Ethiopia.
