View source for Miruts Yifter

{{short description|Ethiopian long-distance runner (1944–2016)}}
{{Patronymic name|Miruts|Yifter|his}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Miruts Yifter
| image = Olympic Games 1980 - 5000 m race.jpg
| image_size = 200
| caption = Miruts (#191) at the [[1980 Summer Olympics]]
| native_name = ምሩፅ ይፍጠር
| native_name_lang = ti
| nationality = [[Ethiopia]]n
| alias = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1944|5|15}}
| birth_place = [[Zalambessa]], [[Tigray Province]], [[Ethiopian Empire]]
| death_date = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|df=yes|2016|12|22|1944|5|15}}}}
| death_place = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| height = 
| weight = 
| sport = [[Track and field#Running|Track]]
| event = [[5000 m]], [[10,000 m]]
| club = 
| collegeteam = 
| turnedpro = 
| retired = 
| pb = '''5000 m''': 13:13.82<ref name="IAAF">{{cite web|url=http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/ethiopia/miruts-yifter-11008|author=IAAF|title=Profile of Miruts Yifter}}</ref> <br> '''10,000 m''': 27:40.96<ref name="IAAF"/>
| olympics = 
| worlds = 
| highestranking = 
| coaching = 
| updated = 
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{Medal|Country | {{flag|Ethiopia|1975}} }}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Moscow]]|[[Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 5000 metres|5000 metres]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Moscow]]|[[Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|10,000 metres]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[1972 Summer Olympics|1972 Munich]]|[[Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 10,000 metres|10,000 metres]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[All-Africa Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[Athletics at the 1973 All-Africa Games|1973 Lagos]] | 10,000 metres}}
{{Medal|Silver| [[Athletics at the 1973 All-Africa Games|1973 Lagos]] | 5000 metres}}
{{Medal|Country|[[File:Africa (orthographic projection).svg|20px]] [[Confederation of African Athletics|Africa]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[IAAF World Cup]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1977 IAAF World Cup|1977 Düsseldorf]] |5000 metres}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1977 IAAF World Cup|1977 Düsseldorf]] |10,000 metres}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1979 IAAF World Cup|1979 Montreal]] |5000 metres}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1979 IAAF World Cup|1979 Montreal]] |10,000 metres}}
}}

'''Miruts Yifter''' ({{Langx|gez|ምሩፅ ይፍጠር|label=[[Amharic]] and [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]}}, affectionately known as "Yifter the Shifter",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/ethiopia/miruts-yifter-14349904|title=Miruts YIFTER &#124; Profile|website=www.worldathletics.org}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417174910/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/yi/miruts-yifter-1.html Miruts Yifter at Sports Reference]</ref> 15 May 1944 – 22 December 2016) was an Ethiopian [[Long-distance running|long-distance runner]] and winner of two [[gold medal]]s at the [[1980 Summer Olympics]]. His date of birth is often given as 15 May 1944, though there is some uncertainty about this. His name is also sometimes spelled as '''Muruse Yefter'''.

==Early life==
Born in [[Zalambessa]], [[Tigray]], [[Ethiopia]], Miruts spent the early part of his youth working in different factories and as a carriage driver. His talent as a long-distance runner was noticed when he joined the [[Ethiopian Air Force]].

==Running career==
Miruts was called to the Ethiopian national team for the [[1968 Summer Olympics]] in [[Mexico City]], but he made his Olympic debut four years later in [[1972 Summer Olympics|Munich Olympics]] where he won a [[bronze medal]] in [[10,000 metres]]. However, he arrived too late to compete in the [[5000 metres|5,000 metres]] final.

In the [[Athletics at the 1973 All-Africa Games|1973 All-Africa Games]] he won one gold medal (10,000 m) and one [[silver medal|silver]] (5,000 m). At the [[1979 African Championships in Athletics|1st African Championships]] in 1979 he won two gold medals (5,000 and 10,000 metres).

Miruts was unable to participate in the [[1976 Summer Olympics]] because his nation boycotted the event. Four years later in [[Moscow]], Miruts made up for his disappointments by winning gold in both the 10,000 m and 5,000 m events.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iaaf.org/news/iaaf-news/turning-the-clock-back-to-moscow-1980|title=IAAF: Turning the clock back to Moscow 1980{{!}} News {{!}} iaaf.org|last=|first=|date=May 16, 2013|website=iaaf.org|access-date=2017-11-19}}</ref> In the final of the 10,000 m he sprinted into the lead 300 m from the finish and won by ten metres. Five days later, in the 5,000 m final, Miruts was boxed in during the last lap. But with 300 m to go, his Ethiopian teammate, [[Mohamed Kedir]], stepped aside and Miruts again sprinted to victory. Due to his abrupt acceleration when executing his kick towards the finish, Miruts acquired the nickname "Yifter the Shifter."

At [[Coamo]], Puerto Rico on 6 February 1977, Miruts ran a World Best for the half-marathon of 1:02:57.

At the Moscow Olympics, part of the mystery surrounding Miruts was the question of his age, which was reported to be between 33 and 42. Miruts refused to give a definitive answer, telling reporters:

"Men may steal my chickens; men may steal my sheep. But no man can steal my age."

The most common versions of his date of birth are 1 January 1938 or 15 May 1944 (see IAAF Profile).

Miruts continued competing into the early 1980s, running on Ethiopia's gold medal winning team at the 1982 and 1983 [[IAAF World Cross Country Championships]].

==Death==
[[File:Addis abeba, chiesa della trinità, esterno, tomba dell'atleta olimpionico miruts yifter 'the shifter'.jpg|thumb|Miruts's grave in the Holy Trinity Cathedral cemetery]]
Miruts died aged 72 on 22 December 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, where he had lived since 2000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.athleticsweekly.com/featured/miruts-yifter-the-shifter-dies-54795/|title=Miruts Yifter 'the shifter' dies|date=December 23, 2016}}</ref> According to family members, he had been suffering from respiratory problems.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meseret |first1=Elias |title=Family: Ethiopian running legend Miruts Yifter dies at 72 |url=https://apnews.com/article/d124986da4784e58a68d9274f9d8f6e4 |access-date=8 November 2022 |work=AP News |date=23 December 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

He was buried in [[Addis Ababa]], in the [[Holy Trinity Cathedral (Addis Ababa)|Holy Trinity Cathedral]] cemetery.

==International competitions==
{| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{flag|Ethiopia|1975}}
|-
|rowspan=2|1979
|rowspan=2|[[1979 African Championships in Athletics|African Championships]]
|rowspan=2|[[Dakar, Senegal]]
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|5000 m
|14:14.0
|-
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|10,000 m
|29:08.0
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{Olympics.com|miruts-yifter|org_archive=20200814053055}}
* {{Olympedia}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Juan Rafael Pérez]]
| title = [[Half marathon#Men.27s Seasons Best|Men's half marathon best year performance]]
| years = 1977
| after = [[Tony Simmons (athlete)|Tony Simmons]]
}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Suleiman Nyambui]]
| title = [[5000 metres#Men's seasons best (outdoor track)|Men's 5000 m best year performance]]
| years = 1980
| after = [[Henry Rono]]
}}
{{s-sports|oly}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Robel Teklemariam]]
| title = [[List of flag bearers for Ethiopia at the Olympics|Flagbearer]] for {{ETH|1996}}
| years = [[2008 Summer Olympics|Beijing 2008]]
| after = [[Robel Teklemariam]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 5000 m Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 10000 m Men}}
{{Footer IAAF World Cup Champions 5000m Men}}
{{Footer IAAF World Cup Champions 10000m Men}}
{{Footer All-Africa Champions 10000 m Men}}
{{Footer African Champions men's 5000 metres}}
{{Footer African Champions men's 10,000 metres}}
{{Footer US NC Indoor 3000 meters Men}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yifter, Miruts}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Tigray Region]]
[[Category:Ethiopian men long-distance runners]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Ethiopian Air Force personnel]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists in athletics]]
[[Category:African Games gold medalists for Ethiopia]]
[[Category:African Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:African Games athletes for Ethiopia]]
[[Category:Ethiopian emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Age controversies in sports]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1973 All-Africa Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1973 All-Africa Games]]