Bashir Abdi
Abdi at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Citizenship | Belgian |
Born | [1][2] El Afweyne, Somalia[3] | 10 February 1989
Sport | |
Country | Belgium |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | Long-distance running |
Club | NN Running Team[2] |
Coached by | Gary Lough[2] |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal bests | |
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.
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
[edit]Bashir Abdi was born in El Afweyne, northern Somalia. His family hails from the Degehabur district of the Somali region of Ethiopia. He is from the Aw-Qudub sub-section of the Sheekhaal clan which is part of the larger Hawiye family. [3][6] When he was eight, his family moved to Djibouti. He then spent a year and a half in Ethiopia, before settling in Belgium. There, aged 16, he started training at the Racing Club Gent Athletics, following his brother Ibrahim.[2]
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
[edit]2014–2017
[edit]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
[edit]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]
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
[edit]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]
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] In October, Abdi won the rescheduled Rotterdam Marathon, setting a European record with a time of 2:03:36.[16]
In April 2022, he placed fourth at the Rotterdam Marathon.[16] 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.[17]
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.[18]
Statistics
[edit]Competition record
[edit]Personal bests
[edit]Surface | Event | Time (Distance) |
Place | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Track | 1500 metres | 3:36.55 | Oordegem, Belgium | 5 July 2014 | |
3000 metres | 7:40.44 | London, United Kingdom | 24 July 2015 | ||
5000 metres | 13:04.91 | Brussels, Belgium | 31 August 2018 | ||
10,000 metres | 27:24.41 | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 5 June 2021 | ||
20,000 metres | 56:20.02 | Brussels, Belgium | 4 September 2020 | World best | |
One hour run | 21,322 m | Brussels, Belgium | 4 September 2020 | NR | |
Road | 10 km | 28:07 | Schoorl, Netherlands | 10 February 2019 | |
Half marathon | 59:51 | Ghent, Belgium | 12 March 2023 | NR | |
Marathon | 2:03:36 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 24 October 2021 | European record |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Bashir ABDI. worldathletics.org
- ^ a b c d e f "ABDI Bashir". Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Wiilashii Soomaalida oo guul wayn Yurub uga soo hooyay Maaradoonka Tokyo". BBC News Somali (in Somali). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ a b c "Bashir ABDI – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ "Ethiopa's Tola takes dominant marathon gold". Reuters.com. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "EASO Country of Origin Information Report Somalia - Security Situation" (PDF). European Asylum Support Office: 72. February 2016.
The Ceel Afweyn district is mainly inhabited by the Isaaq subclan Habar Jeelo.
- ^ "EK atletiek: Bashir Abdi wordt vijfde in 10 kilometer". Metrotime.be. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ Bashir Abdi: ‘Ik heb tot het laatste moment getwijfeld om te.... Standaard.be (17 August 2014). Retrieved on 2021-08-08.
- ^ "Abdi loopt olympische limiet 10.000 meter". Sporza.be (in Dutch). 3 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
- ^ NN Marathon Rotterdam 2018. sporthive.com
- ^ Abdi bezorgt België eerste eremetaal op EK atletiek! – Tranen bij Renée Eykens na val – Drie op drie voor broers Borlée op 400m. hln.be. 7 August 2018
- ^ Virgin Money London Marathon 2019 Archived 9 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Results.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com (28 April 2019). Retrieved on 2021-08-08.
- ^ Race Results | Granite State Race Services. Gsrs.com (3 August 2019). Retrieved on 2021-08-08.
- ^ Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Results.chicagomarathon.com. Retrieved on 8 August 2021.
- ^ Tokyo Marathon 2020. marathon.tokyo
- ^ a b "Nageeye and Hailu triumph at Rotterdam Marathon". World Athletics. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ Crumley, Euan (2 October 2022). "Kipruto's closing kick lands him London Marathon prize". AW. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Abdi triumphs in the Rotterdam Marathon in a world leading 2:03:47". European Athletics. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
External links
[edit]- Bashir Abdi at World Athletics
- Bashir Abdi at Diamond League
- Bashir Abdi at Olympics.com
- Bashir Abdi at Olympedia
- Bashir Abdi at Team Belgium (in Dutch)
- 1989 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Mogadishu
- Belgian male long-distance runners
- Somalian male long-distance runners
- Belgian male cross country runners
- Somalian male cross country runners
- Belgian male marathon runners
- Somalian male marathon runners
- Somalian emigrants to Belgium
- Olympic athletes for Belgium
- Olympic silver medalists for Belgium
- Olympic bronze medalists for Belgium
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Belgium
- Black Belgian sportspeople
- 21st-century Belgian sportsmen
- Naturalised citizens of Belgium