 Abdi at the2022 World Athletics Championships inEugene | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | Belgian |
| Born | (1989-02-10)10 February 1989 (age 36)[1][2] |
| Sport | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Long-distance running |
| Club | NN Running Team[2] |
| Coached by | Gary Lough[2] |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbests | |
Bashir Abdi (born 10 February 1989)[4] is a Belgianlong-distance runner. He won bronze medals in themarathon at the2020 Tokyo Olympics and2022 World Championships and silver at the2024 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 the10,000 metres at the2018 European Championships. He finished second and third at the2020 Tokyo Marathon and2022 London Marathon respectively. Abdi is theEuropean record holder for the marathon.
He also holds theBelgian records in thehalf marathon andone hour run, and theworld best in the rarely contested20,000 metres ontrack, as well as the Belgian national record for the marathon in the master M35 category.
Abdi was born inEl Afweyn,Somaliland, a town mainly inhabited by theHabr Je'lo clan of theIsaaq clan-family.[6][7] When he was eight, his family moved toDjibouti. He then spent a year and a half inEthiopia, before settling in Belgium, where his mother had initiated a family reunification procedure after having received recognition as a political refugee.[8] 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".[8]
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 inGhent.[2]
Abdi entered the10,000 metres at the2014 European Athletics Championships with the European-leading time set on 4 May.[9][10] He finished fifth at the event.[4]
In May 2015, he qualified for the2016 Rio Olympics.[11]
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'sMo Farah.
In 2017, he competed in the London2017 World Championships in Athletics in the men's 5000 m, placing sixth in his heat.
In 2018, Abdi made his marathon debut at theRotterdam Marathon, placing seventh with a time of 2:10:46. The race was won by Kenya'sKenneth Kipkemoi in 2:05:44.[12] In August that year, he won silver in the 10,000 m at the2018 European Athletics Championships.[13] In the autumn Abdi raced several road races placing third at theGreat North Runhalf marathon in a time of 1:00:42, fourth at theDam tot Damloop10 miler in 46:08, fifth at theNijmegen Zevenheuvelenloop15 km in 43:40 and third at the's-Heerenberg Montferland Run 15 km in 43:40.[1]
In 2019, he was second at theBig Half Marathon in London with a time of 1:01:16 in a close finish with race winner Mo Farah and third placerDaniel Wanjiru. Abdi then competed in theLondon Marathon, placing seventh in a time of 2:07:03 in a race won by Kenya'sEliud Kipchoge in 2:02:37.[14] 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'sAlex Korio, however he was disqualified.Jairus Birech came in second.[15] Abdi headed back toNewcastle 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 theChicago Marathon, placing fifth with a time of 2:06:14, the race was won by Kenya'sLawrence Cherono in 2:05:45 in a sprint finish.[16] Abdi next raced at theMontferland Run 15 km, finishing fifth in a time of 42:29. On New Year's Eve in Spain he won theSan Silvestre Vallecana 10k m inMadrid with a time of 27:47.
Abdi opened his 2020 racing campaign by winning theEgmond Half Marathon. He then achieved his first marathon podium position by placing second in theTokyo Marathon in a new personal best time of 2:04:49. He passed Ethiopia'sSisay Lemma in the closing stages to finish behind the race winner Ethiopia'sBirhanu Legese, who ran a time of 2:04:15.[17] Abdi returned to the track in September competing at theMemorial 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 theEuropean 10,000 m Cup inBirmingham in a new personal best of 27:24.41. This performance qualified him for the 10,000 m event at the delayed2020 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 sinceKarel Lismont’s medal 45 years ago.[8] The finish of the marathon provided one of the most enduring images of the2020 Summer Olympics as Abdi's good friend, Dutch athlete and silver medal winnerAbdi 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'sLawrence Cherono.[18] In October, Abdi won the rescheduledRotterdam Marathon, setting a European record with a time of 2:03:36.[19]
In April 2022, he placed fourth at the Rotterdam Marathon.[19] In July that year, Abdi won his second consecutive global bronze in the marathon at the2022 World Athletics Championships held inEugene, Oregon, clocking 2:06:48.[4] He earned his second medal at aWorld Marathon Major by finishing third at theLondon Marathon in October with a time of 2:05:19.[20]
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.[21]
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 the2024 Summer Olympics inParis, France.[22] He returned to competition in theGreat Manchester Run, his first race since his injury, and set a Belgian record in the 10 km on the road.[23] At the2024 Summer Olympics, he finished 2nd, winning Belgium's only silver medal at the Games.[24] With his time of 2:06:47 he also broke the Belgian national record for the marathon in the master M35 category.[25]
In 2025, Abdi competed in theChicago Marathon, finishing 10th with a time of 2:07:08.[26]
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| 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 |
The Ceel Afweyn district is mainly inhabited by the Isaaq subclan Habar Jeelo.
