Feyisa Lilesa
Feyisa at the 2015 Berlin Marathon
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Ethiopian | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
1 February 1990 Jeldu, Ethiopia |
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| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) |
Chicago Marathon: 2:04:52 (2012)
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Medal record
Feyisa Lilesa
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Feyisa Lilesa (Afan Oromo: Fayyisaa Leellisaa; Amharic: ፈይሳ ሌሊሳ ; born 1 February 1990) is a male long-distance runner from Ethiopia. A member of the Oromo people, he became the youngest man to run under 2:06 when he ran 2:05:23 in the men's marathon at the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon. His personal best of 2:04:52 (set in 2012) ranks him in the top ten fastest marathoners ever.
He won the Dublin Marathon in 2009 in his debut race and then won the Xiamen International Marathon in 2010. He was the bronze medalist at the 2011 World Championships marathon and the silver medalist in the 2016 Rio Olympics marathon. On the final day of the 2016 Rio Olympics (21 August), as he was crossing the finish line of the Men's Marathon and winning his silver medal, he raised his arms in a gesture of solidarity with protestors against the killing of the Oromo people in his home country of Ethiopia. Citing fear for his life if he returns to Ethiopia, he said in a press conference following the race that he would, "try and move to another country." One of the countries he mentioned was the U.S. and the State Department was asked about this possibility.
He entered international competition in 2008 and his first major competition was the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where his 14th-place finish in the junior race helped the Ethiopians to the team silver medals. He ran at the inaugural edition of the World 10K Bangalore in May and was fifth in a time of 28:35.
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