Turbo Tumo was famous for running two 2:09 marathons one week apart.
He was a beast of a runner who refused to listen to his coaches.
He died in a bus accident in ethiopia.
He is famous for saying he dropped out of the atlanta olympic marathon because he would have run slower than fatuma roba (the female champ)
he was also asked what his name meant...this is how it went
what does turbo mean? lion
what does tumo mean? leopard
he was a charachter. his results on iaaf are incomplete.
df360 wrote:
Turbo Tumo was famous for running two 2:09 marathons one week apart.
He was a beast of a runner who refused to listen to his coaches.
He died in a bus accident in ethiopia.
He is famous for saying he dropped out of the atlanta olympic marathon because he would have run slower than fatuma roba (the female champ)
he was also asked what his name meant...this is how it went
what does turbo mean? lion
what does tumo mean? leopard
he was a charachter. his results on iaaf are incomplete.
Sad indeed.
I used to "manage" Turbo. I used the Houston Marathon to break him into the US scene in 1995 or 1996. He won in 2:10:34. He followed the police car at the finish and took a wrong turn and had to run down Steve Brace at the finish by a second.
In April he ran Boston with not so good results.
In August, he ran Atlanta. The quote given to him about not running a "woman's time" was a half truth. I used it as a marketing tool for Roba whom I also managed to keep both their names in the news. It worked. (I actually heard it again for the first time watching the 1997 Boston Marathon just two nights ago. Don't ask why so late.)
His roommate in the Olympic village was some guy named Belaneh Densimo.....
In November he was scheduled to run the NYC Marathon. The Monday before the race I got an angry phone call from elite coordinator Anne Roberts because he had raced a marathon in Holland the day before. (This I didn't know. A case of not listening to coaches/managers.) He won by a second in 2:11:26. She said he was not invited to NYC. For some reason, I asked that he still be allowed to come. She finally agreed. He placed 2nd in 2:10:09 behind Leone!!
By the way, Nike never paid his $10,000 bonus for that race.
In March he was contracted to run the LA Marathon. He said he couldn't come the week of but instead went to Japan and ran 2:09 there. LA and Anne (and I) were furious. I almost got sued by the race and my days with Turbo were over.
Some told me Turbo was in his 40s, he looked it, but I had his passport info and it didn't say that but he was a fierce runner and a different sort but most my memories are fond.
Sad news indeed.
Here's a brief story on his death:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g4ocalopuOvo0GKOoOrB2Nhd9OHw
I saw him running Bolder Boulder once. Big legs.
Turbo Tumo always seemed like a perfect name for a runner.
The guy missed winning the NYC Marathon by just 15 seconds.
Turbo Tumo was a very good runner for sometime. In 1993 he finished a fine 6th in the World Marathon Cup in San Sebastian in Spain, in 2:10:32. This was followed by a solid performance in the Turin Marathon in 1994 where he finished runner-up in 2:10:23. The 1995 season Tumo ran a very aggressive first half in the Rome Marathon where he pasted halfway in 62:45, World record pace by over a minute! However, this pace took it\\\'s toll and he finished a weary 11th place in 2:14:25. A month later in Prague Turbo won his first major marathon in 2:12 minutes. This run qualified Tumo to run for Ethiopia at the world Championship Marathon in Gothenborg, where Tumo was an early leader at half-way, however once again he was to fade and finish well down. 1996 was to be Turbo\\\'s best year, with wins in Houston, 2:10:34, Eindhoven 2:11:26 and runner-up sport in New York, 2:10:09. 1997 Tumo ran a personal best at the Otsu Marathon in Japan, where it took World Marathon Champion Martin Fiz from Spain to beat him, Tumo finishing 2nd in 2:09:00. This followed with a DNF at the World Championship Marathon in Athens during the Summer. Tumo at least finished the year on a high finishing creditable 6th at the Chunchon Marathon in South Korea in 2:11:21. Tumo\\\'s career was never quite able to reproduce the same form of 1996, but he still managed to come 8th in Boston in 2:13:06, and 6th in Berlin in 2:11:00 in 1998, and Finish 3rd in the Beijing in 1999. Tumo\\\'s last significant run was set in San Sebastian in 2000, where he sustained his breakthrough in 1993. Tumo once again showed a great turn of speed to win in 2:12.
"'90s"
Kinda like Pre but with a bus!
Man that is a memory. I was spectating (coffee & kahlua) that morning and was standing at the corner where the press truck was to come through, Turbo was supposed to go left to the finish. The truck came through, and Tumo tried to follow it. In all the commotion I caught his eyes and gave a simple hand signal, the rest is history.
This thread was listed on the front page "On the Boards" so I clicked it b/c I had no idea who Turbo Tumo was. Come to find out there were no recent posts to bring it to the front page... but I'm glad it was there and to have learned about Turbo.
RIP you bad ass, Turbo.
Look closely at the picture on this thread, he's wearing Adidas
I didn't realize that this was an 11 year old thread (?).
Remarkable man, but I guess he's still dead.
since the car accident he died in was 11 years ago, it's no longer to soon to ask whether that car was turbo charged.
Turbo was up there with Tarzan (relatively speaking) :
"1936, Tarzan Brown won the venerable Port Chester marathon in 2-36:56.7. On the next day, 12 October 1936, he won a second marathon in as many days, winning the New England Marathon Championship in Manchester, New Hampshire"
"He died in 1975 when he was struck by a van"
"PB of 2:27:29 in 1940."
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/br/tarzan-brown-1.html
There's been a few:
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/friv/lists.cgi?id=58