 vÃ©nuste niyongabo (born december 9, 1973) is a burundian former middle-distance runner. in 1996, he became the first (and so far, only) olympic medalist from burundi by winning the 5000 metres at the 1996 summer olympics.burundi. sports reference. retrieved on 2011-01-22. he had only competed twice before in that event prior to winning the gold medal. a tutsi born in vugizo, in southern burundi,vÃ©nuste niyongabo. sports reference. retrieved on 2011-01-22. niyongabo won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 1992 world junior championships and also came fourth over 800 metres. he competed in his first senior tournament the following year, but was eliminated in the 1500 m semi-finals of the world championships in stuttgart. niyongabo soon became one of the top 1500 m runners in the world, winning several major races in 1994 and 1995. he also won a bronze medal at the world championships in gothenburg, finishing behind noureddine morceli and hicham el guerrouj.vÃ©nuste niyongabo. iaaf. retrieved on 2011-01-22. for the 1996 olympics, held in atlanta, niyongabo was assumed to be a potential winner of the 1500&nbsp;m, but he decided to forfeit his place to a compatriot, dieudonnÃ© kwizera. kwizera had been unable to compete in the 1988 and 1992 olympics since burundi did not have a national olympic committee at the time, and was only in atlanta as a coach. niyongabo moved up to compete in the 5000&nbsp;m event instead. the move turned out to be a good one for both athletes; kwizera finally became an olympian, while niyongabo sprinted away in the last lap of the 5000 m final to win an unexpected gold medal.venuste niyongabo. sporting heroes. retrieved on 2011-01-22. he also is the sixth fastest miler ever, putting him behind only hicham el guerrouj, noah ngeny, noureddine morceli, steve cram and daniel komen.one mile all time. iaaf (2011-01-14). retrieved on 2011-01-22. after the olympics, niyongabo struggled with several injuries, and never achieved the same le
1973_births Athletes_(track_and_field)_at_the_1996_Summer_Olympics Athletes_(track_and_field)_at_the_2000_Summer_Olympics Burundian_long-distance_runners Burundian_middle-distance_runners Burundian_sportsmen Living_people Male_long-distance_runners Male_middle-distance_runners Medalists_at_the_1996_Summer_Olympics Olympic_athletes_of_Burundi Olympic_medalists_in_athletics_(track_and_field) World_Championships_in_Athletics_medalists