A win at the World 10K Bangalore, where he beat Moses Kipsiro in 27:51, was the highlight of a low-key build up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In August, Zersenay was among some forty runners competing for the medals in the 10,000 metres Olympic final. Zersenay's brother, Kidane, was also competing and he led for most of first half of what was a quick race. Zersenay Tadese had the lead at the 7–8000 m mark but Bekele and Sihine sprinted into first and second. Although Zersenay's time almost equalled the previous Olympic record for the event, he ended up one second behind Kenyans Moses Masai and Micah Kogo, taking fifth place overall.