Bashir Abdi

Last updated

Bashir Abdi
Bashir Abdi Oregon 2022.jpg
Personal information
CitizenshipBelgian
Born (1989-02-10) 10 February 1989 (age 35) [1] [2]
El Afweyne, Somalia [3]
Sport
Country Belgium
Sport Athletics
Event Long-distance running
Club NN Running Team [2]
Coached byGary Lough [2]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2024 Paris Marathon
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2020 Tokyo Marathon
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Eugene Marathon
European Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2018 Berlin 10,000 m
World Marathon Majors
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2020 Tokyo Marathon
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 London Marathon
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Chicago Marathon

Bashir Abdi (born 10 February 1989) [4] is a Belgian long-distance runner. He won bronze medals in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 World Championships and silver at the 2024 Summer Olympics. In doing so, Abdi became both the first ever Belgian world championship medal winner at the marathon [5] and the first Belgian male athlete to win an individual medal at both the Olympic Games and World Athletics Championships. He claimed silver in the 10,000 metres at the 2018 European Championships. He finished second and third at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon and 2022 London Marathon respectively. Abdi is the European record holder for the marathon.

Contents

He also holds the Belgian records in the half marathon and one hour run, and the world best in the rarely contested 20,000 metres on track.

Personal life

Bashir Abdi was born in El Afweyne. [3] When he was eight, his family moved to Djibouti. He then spent a year and a half in Ethiopia, before settling in Belgium, where his mother had initiated a family reunification procedure after having received recognition as a political refugee. [6] There, aged 16, he started training at the Racing Club Gent Athletics, following his brother Ibrahim. [2] His mother always supported him being an athlete when no one else in his family would and when she died of cancer in 2011, on her last day, she impressed upon her children that as "this country has meant so much to all of you, be good people". [6]

Abdi is married and has a daughter, Kadra, born 2018, and a son Ibrahim; born 2020. He is a co-founder and vice-chairman of the non-profit organization Sportaround, which organizes after-school sports activities for children in Ghent. [2]

Running career

2014–2017

Abdi entered the 10,000 metres at the 2014 European Athletics Championships with the European-leading time set on 4 May. [7] [8] He finished fifth at the event. [4]

In May 2015, he qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. [9]

At the Games, Abdi competed in both the men's 5000 m and 10,000 m. He finished 20th in the 10,000 m final, the race won by Great Britain's Mo Farah.

In 2017, he competed in the London 2017 World Championships in Athletics in the men's 5000 m, placing sixth in his heat.

2018–2019: Beginning of marathon career

In 2018, Abdi made his marathon debut at the Rotterdam Marathon, placing seventh with a time of 2:10:46. The race was won by Kenya's Kenneth Kipkemoi in 2:05:44. [10] In August that year, he won silver in the 10,000 m at the 2018 European Athletics Championships. [11] In the autumn Abdi raced several road races placing third at the Great North Run half marathon in a time of 1:00:42, fourth at the Dam tot Damloop 10 miler in 46:08, fifth at the Nijmegen Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km in 43:40 and third at the 's-Heerenberg Montferland Run 15 km in 43:40. [1]

Mo Farah, Abdi and Daniel Wanjiru, The Big Half in London in 2019. Mo Farah, Bashir Abdi and Daniel Wanjiru, 2019 London Half Marathon, 10 March 2019.jpg
Mo Farah, Abdi and Daniel Wanjiru, The Big Half in London in 2019.

In 2019, he was second at the Big Half Marathon in London with a time of 1:01:16 in a close finish with race winner Mo Farah and third placer Daniel Wanjiru. Abdi then competed in the London Marathon, placing seventh in a time of 2:07:03 in a race won by Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge in 2:02:37. [12] In August, he was second in the Beach to Beacon 10 km in the United States, finishing in 28:35. The race was initially won by Kenya's Alex Korio, however he was disqualified. Jairus Birech came in second. [13] Abdi headed back to Newcastle upon Tyne where he again raced the Great North Run half marathon, finishing fifth in a time of 1:01:11, the race was won by Farah. In October, Abdi ran in the Chicago Marathon, placing fifth with a time of 2:06:14, the race was won by Kenya's Lawrence Cherono in 2:05:45 in a sprint finish. [14] Abdi next raced at the Montferland Run 15 km, finishing fifth in a time of 42:29. On New Year's Eve in Spain he won the San Silvestre Vallecana 10k m in Madrid with a time of 27:47.

2020–present: Marathon breakthrough

Abdi opened his 2020 racing campaign by winning the Egmond Half Marathon. He then achieved his first marathon podium position by placing second in the Tokyo Marathon in a new personal best time of 2:04:49. He passed Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma in the closing stages to finish behind the race winner Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese, who ran a time of 2:04:15. [15] Abdi returned to the track in September competing at the Memorial Van Damme in the one hour race. He ran the majority of the race with Farah, taking the lead and setting a European record at 20,000 m of 56:20.02. He finished second behind Farah setting a mark of 21,322 metres. [1]

Bashir Abdi set a European record at the 2021 Rotterdam Marathon. In 2023 (pictured), he regained his title. Bashir Abdi at 2023 Rotterdam Marathon2.jpg
Bashir Abdi set a European record at the 2021 Rotterdam Marathon. In 2023 (pictured), he regained his title.

In 2021, Abdi was second behind Farah at the Djibouti International Half Marathon with a time of 1:03:11. He then placed second at the European 10,000 m Cup in Birmingham in a new personal best of 27:24.41. This performance qualified him for the 10,000 m event at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He focused on the marathon at the Games, however, winning the bronze medal [2] and the first medal for Belgium in the Olympic marathon event since Karel Lismont’s medal 45 years ago. [6] The finish of the marathon provided one of the most enduring images of the 2024 Summer Olympics as Abdi's good friend, Dutch athlete and silver medal winner Abdi Nageeye, also of Somali descent, cheered and encouraged his exhausted Belgian training partner to stay with him as they battled for the medals with Kenya's Lawrence Cherono. [16] In October, Abdi won the rescheduled Rotterdam Marathon, setting a European record with a time of 2:03:36. [17]

In April 2022, he placed fourth at the Rotterdam Marathon. [17] In July that year, Abdi won his second consecutive global bronze in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, clocking 2:06:48. [4] He earned his second medal at a World Marathon Major by finishing third at the London Marathon in October with a time of 2:05:19. [18]

In April 2023, Abdi regained his Rotterdam Marathon title in a time of 2:03:47, clocking a significant negative second half split of 61:32, setting the second fastest European time in history as he missed his own continental record by just 11 seconds. [19]

At the beginning of 2024 Abdi, while on altitude training in Ethiopia, suffered a sacral stress fracture and was forced to interrupt training for 6 weeks, preventing him to run a spring marathon in preparation for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. [20] He returned to competition in the Great Manchester Run, his first race since his injury, and set a Belgian record in the 10km on the road. [21] At the 2024 Summer Olympics, he finished 2nd, winning Belgium's only silver medal at the Games. [22]

Statistics

Abdi took silver for the 10,000 m at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin. 2018 European Athletics Championships Day 2 (22).jpg
Abdi took silver for the 10,000 m at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin.

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTime
Representing Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
2010 European Cross Country Championships Albufeira, Portugal41st U23 race 25:25
2011 European U23 Championships Ostrava, Czech Republic15th 5000 m 14:30.52
2012 European Championships Helsinki, Finland8th 5000 m 13:39.01
4th 10,000 m 28:23.72
European Cross Country Championships Szentendre, Hungary9th Senior race 30:26
2013 European Team Championships First League Dublin, Ireland1st 5000 m 14:52.78
World Championships Moscow, Russia23rd 10,000 m 28:41.69
European Cross Country Championships Belgrade, Serbia8th Senior race 29:53
2014 European Championships Zürich, Switzerland5th 10,000 m 28:13.61
16th 5000 m 14:24.73
2015 European Team Championships First League Heraklion, Greece1st 5000 m 15:17.47
World Championships Beijing, China– (f) 10,000 m DNF
– (h) 5000 m DNS
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil20th 10,000 m 28:01.49
33rd (h) 5000 m 13:42.83
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom19th (h) 5000 m 13:30.71
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany2nd 10,000 m 28:11.76
2021 European 10,000m Cup Birmingham, United Kingdom2nd 10,000 m 27:24.41
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan3rd Marathon 2:10:00 SB
2022 World Championships Eugene, OR, United States3rd Marathon 2:06:48
2024 Olympic Games Paris, France2nd Marathon 2:06:47 SB
World Marathon Majors
2019 London Marathon London, United Kingdom7th Marathon 2:07:03
2020 Tokyo Marathon Tokyo, Japan2nd Marathon 2:04:49
2022 London Marathon London, United Kingdom3rd Marathon 2:05:19

Personal bests

SurfaceEventTime
(Distance)
PlaceDateNotes
Track 1500 metres 3:36.55 Oordegem, Belgium5 July 2014
3000 metres 7:40.44 London, United Kingdom24 July 2015
5000 metres 13:04.91 Brussels, Belgium31 August 2018
10,000 metres 27:24.41 Birmingham, United Kingdom5 June 2021
20,000 metres 56:20.02 Brussels, Belgium4 September 2020 World best
One hour run 21,322 m Brussels, Belgium4 September 2020 NR
Road 10 km 28:07 Schoorl, Netherlands10 February 2019
Half marathon 59:51 Ghent, Belgium12 March 2023 NR
Marathon 2:03:36 Rotterdam, Netherlands24 October 2021 European record

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References

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