Homiyu Tesfaye

Homiyu Tesfaye Heyi (born 23 June 1993) is an Ethiopian-German middle- and long-distance runner.

After claiming political asylum he began competing for Germany and came fifth in the 1500 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. He won his first German indoor title in 2012 and claimed his first outdoor title (over 10,000 metres) the following year.

A winner of numerous German under-20 and under-23 titles, he was accused of being Henok Tesfaye Heyi (an Ethiopian runner who is three years older) and thus of falsifying his age in competition.

Born in Debre Zeyit near Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Homiyu claimed right of asylum in Frankfurt am Main in 2010 and began training with athletics coach Wolfgang Heinig at the LG Eintracht Frankfurt sport club. He began competing in Germany the following year and reached national competitions in 2012. He won the German indoor title in the 1500 metres, then placed third at the 2012 German Athletics Championships. He also won the junior (under-20) titles over 3000 metres and 5000 metres, as well as the German under-23 1500 m title.

2013 marked his breakthrough as a runner internationally as he gained German citizenship that June. He was runner-up in the 1500 m at the German indoors and took the 10,000 metres national title. A physical exchange with Robin Schembera over 800 m at the 2013 German Athletics Championships saw Homiyu fall and hurt his leg after finishing just behind the native German. Three weeks previously, Homiyu had taunted his opponents after winning the German under-23 title by doing press ups by the finish line while his opponents were still racing – Schembera remarked that beating Homiyu was "a matter of honour". Homiyu improved his personal best in the 1500 m to 3:34.76 minutes and gained selection for the 2013 World Championships in Athletics as a result. In the World Championships 1500 m he finished in fifth place – the best finish by a German athlete in over twenty years. He finished the year with a personal best run of 3:34.18 minutes at the Weltklasse Zürich meeting and a win at the Trierer Silvesterlauf.

...
Wikipedia