podium at a world cross country event. Two months later he finished second in the 10 km Great Manchester Run; his time of 27:59 was five seconds behind winner Craig Mottram. He took to the track in June at a meeting in Gavà, Spain, and recorded another national record, this time in the 10,000 m with a time of 27:32.61. The peak of his season came at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where he became the first person in Eritrean sporting history to win an Olympic medal. Zersenay took the bronze in the 10,000 metres at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece behind Kenenisa Bekele, and Sileshi Sihine. His performance of 27:22.57 represented a dramatic improvement as he had beaten his previous best by ten seconds, despite unfavourably hot conditions. Zersenay refused to politicise his medal win behind his Ethiopian counterparts, stating: "we have always been friends with the Ethiopians. Now we are a nation...I can say I am very happy." The Eritrean-born runner Meb Keflezighi, representing the United States, won silver in the marathon a few days later, highlighting the country's improving standards. Zersenay finished his first Olympics by reaching another event final: he took seventh place in the men's 5000 metres race, confirming his position as a world-class runner. He opened 2005 with a second win in the European Clubs' Cross Country Cup. He won his first World Cross Country Championship medal soon after, finishing second to Bekele to take silver at the 2005 edition. On the track, he recorded a 5000 m personal best of at the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha, and qualified to compete at the World Championships in both the 5000 and 10,000 m. At the 2005 World Championships, he broke the national record in the 10,000 m final, but his time of 27:12.82 was only enough for sixth. The 5000 m final held little reprieve for the Eritrean as he finished in second last position. He ended the season on a positive note, however, improving his 10,000 m best to 27:04.70 at the Memorial Van Damme, and winning the Great North Run with a world best time of 59:05 – which was only his second outing over the half marathon distance. Road and cross country world champion Zersenay failed to make the podium for a second time at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships, but his fourth-place finish headed the Eritrean team towards