Editing Mamo Wolde (section)

==Athletics career==
At his first Olympic appearance in [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956]], Degaga competed in the 800 m, 1,500 m and the 4x400 relay.<ref name="SR">{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/mamo-wolde-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417173700/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/mamo-wolde-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2020 |title=Mamo Wolde |access-date=30 January 2018}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=October 2021|reason=citation needed for 4x400 relay}}

He did not compete in the [[1960 Summer Olympics]], when [[Abebe Bikila]] became the first Ethiopian to win a gold medal. Degaga claimed his absence was due to the government's desire to send him on a peacekeeping mission to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] during the [[Congo Crisis]]. According to him, in the government's ensuing conflict with the [[Ethiopian Olympic Committee]], who wanted him to compete, he did not get sent to either event. However, athlete Said Moussa Osman, who represented Ethiopia in the 800 m at the 1960 Olympics, stated that Degaga lost at the trials and did not make it to the team.<ref name=":2" />

Beginning in the 1960s, Degaga's focus changed from [[Middle distance track event|middle distance races]] to long distances. He made Ethiopia's first mark at international cross-country races when he took the International Juan Muguerza in [[Elgoibar]], Spain, winning in 1963 and 1964, and at the Cross de San Donostin in [[San Sebastian, Spain]], in the same years.<ref name=Hutchinson /> He placed fourth in the 10,000 m at the [[1964 Summer Olympics]], which was won by [[Billy Mills]] of the [[United States]] in one of the biggest upsets in the history of Olympic competition.<ref>[https://www.stripes.com/news/billy-mills-pride-of-a-marine-heart-of-a-warrior-1.18390 Billy Mills, pride of a marine, heart of a warrior], ''[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]'', 2 July 1999, Sean Moore. Retrieved 2 January 2018.</ref> Demissie also became a marathon runner.

Both brothers competed in Tokyo, in the [[Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon|1964 Olympic marathon]]. On 3 August 1964, in the Ethiopian Olympic trials, a race held at 8,000 feet, Degaga qualified by running 2:16:19.2, just 4/10ths of a second behind Abebe Bikela, with Demissie finishing 2:19:30, for 3rd place. Although Degaga dropped out early, Demessie, after being among the leaders for much of the 1964 Olympic race, finished tenth in 2:21:25.2.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Olympic_Marathon.html The Olympic Marathon], ''Human Kinetics,'' David E. Martin, Roger W. H. Gynn, 2000. Retrieved 9 January 2018.</ref> On 21 April 1965, as part of the opening ceremonies for the second season of the [[1964 New York World's Fair|1964/1965 New York World's Fair]], Abebe and Degaga participated in an exclusive ceremonial half marathon.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C06E0DC1F38E13ABC4A51DFB266838E679EDE|title=Lo, a Magic City Awakens and Wizard Rejoices...|last=Phillips|first=Mccandlish|date=22 April 1965|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|url-access=subscription |access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref> They ran from the [[Arsenal (Central Park)|Arsenal]] in [[Central Park]] at 64th Street & [[Fifth Avenue]] in [[Manhattan]] to the [[Singer Bowl]] at the fair.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9806E2DF1F30E033A25752C2A9629C946491D6CF|title=The Fair Resumes Today With Many New Exhibits...|last=Alden|first=Robert|date=4 April 1965|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|url-access=subscription |access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref> They carried with them a parchment scroll with greetings from [[Haile Selassie]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E1D7153CE733A25756C1A9629C946491D6CF|title=Ethiopia Marathon Star Here for Fair|last=Jones|first=Theodore|date=4 April 1965|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|url-access=subscription |access-date=26 January 2017}}</ref> In 1967, he repeated his wins in San Sebastian and Elgiobar, and won again at the latter event in 1968.<ref name=Hutchinson>{{cite book | last = Hutchinson | first = Andrew Boyd | title =  The Complete History of Cross-Country Running: From the Nineteenth Century to the Present Day | location = New York | publisher = [[Skyhorse Publishing]] | pages = 88–90 | date = January 2018 | isbn = 978-1-631-44076-2 }}</ref>

In the [[1968 Summer Olympics]], Degaga became the second Ethiopian to win gold in the marathon. Earlier in the same Olympics, he had won the silver medal in the 10,000 m.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/28/nyregion/mamo-wolde-olympic-marathon-champion.html|title=Mamo Wolde, Olympic Marathon Champion|last=Goldstein|first=Richard|date=28 May 2002|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=17 January 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170117054631/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/28/nyregion/mamo-wolde-olympic-marathon-champion.html|archive-date=17 January 2017|url-status=live|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> At the age of 40, Degaga won his third Olympic medal placing third in 2:15:08 at the [[Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon|1972 Olympic marathon]], while Demissie placed 18th in 2:20:44.0.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference |check-wikidata=no |title=Demissie Wolde |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/demissie-wolde-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418102429/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wo/demissie-wolde-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |accessdate=14 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="SR"/><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jun/08/guardianobituaries.athletics |title=Mamo Wolde |last=Mason |first=Nick |date=7 June 2002 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170117053612/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jun/08/guardianobituaries.athletics |archive-date=17 January 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=17 January 2017 }}</ref> Degaga also won the marathon race in the [[Athletics at the 1973 All-Africa Games|1973 All-Africa Games]]. He blamed his Olympic third place showing in 1972 on ill-fitting shoes forced on him by Ethiopian officials.<ref name=":2" /> He became only the second person in Olympic history (Bikila was the first) to medal in successive Olympic marathons. Both medalists who finished ahead of Degaga, [[Frank Shorter]] from the U.S.A., and Belgium's [[Karel Lismont]] would repeat Degaga's feat in 1976 as they finished second and third behind East Germany's [[Waldemar Cierpinski]]. Cierpinski repeated his win in 1980. Since Cierpnski, [[Erick Wainaina]] finished third in Atlanta in 1996 and second in Sydney in 2000, and [[Eliud Kipchoge]] won in Rio in 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021.  Degaga also won the marathon race in the [[Athletics at the 1973 All-Africa Games|1973 All-Africa Games]].{{cn|date=May 2022}}