Birhanu Balew (born 27 February 1996) is an

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

n-born long-distance runner representing

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. He reached the final of the

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Athletics career

Birhanu started competing internationally in 2015. In 2016 Birhanu competed in his first

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

at the

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

. He placed 9th in the men's 5000m Final clocking a time of 13:09.26. The race was won by Great Britain's

Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a British long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever ...

in 13:03.30. Birhanu's first race of 2017 came on 17 January at the Kuwait City Half Marathon, where he won in a personal best time of 1:01:45. On 26, March Birhanu represented

at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in

Kampala, Uganda Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and ...

. In the Senior race Birhanu placed 27th. On 25 and 26 April Birhanu won both the 10000m and 5000m at the Doha EMIR Cup in 31:16.51 and 13:52.39 respectively. On 5 May Birhanu competed in his first

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

Meeting of the season running 7:52.98 to place 14th in

Doha, Qatar Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the cou ...

. Birhanu then returned to the roads to race the

Okpekpe Road Race Okpekpe road race is an annual event in Edo State, Nigeria. It is a 10K run, 10 Kilometre road race over hills and tarred roads, starting from Apana Road and ending in Okpekpe town. The 2018 edition of the race featured participants from Kenya, Eri ...

10 km in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

, placing 10th in 31:15. Birhanu then won three 5000m races in a Europe before going to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to compete in the

2017 World Championships in Athletics Seventeen or 17 may refer to: * 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanes ...

. In

Birhanu qualified to the final of the 5000m, and finished 12th in a time of 13:43.25; the race was won by Ethiopia's Muktar Edris. Birhanu won two more 5000m before his final competition of the year at the Sao Paulo Corrida de Sao Silvestre 15 km in

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

. In 2018 Birhanu represented his country at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in

Birmingham, United Kingdom Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

over 3000m. After qualifying to the final, Birhanu placed 10th in 8:18.89. Birhanu won a 5000m at the Shanghai Diamond League on 12 May in 13:09.64, and raced 2miles at the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the Univers ...

in Eugene, Oregon, USA on 25 May, placing 3rd in 8:21.54. On 5 July Birhanu won the 5000m at the Lausanne Diamond League Meeting. Running in third place into the final 200m, race leader

Yomif Kejelcha Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian distance runner. He won a silver medal in the men’s 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. On 3 March 2019, Kejelcha broke the indoor mile world recor ...

fell at grabbed

Selemon Barega Selemon Barega Shirtaga (born 20 January 2000) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and a silver for the 5000 metres at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. Barega is a tw ...

's shorts, pulling him out of the inside lane, while Birhanu ran by to win in a time of 13:01.09. On 30 August Birhanu represented his country at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

Jakarta, Indonesia Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

. Birhanu won the 5000m in a time of 13:43.17. Birhanu started his 2019 track season running indoors in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. On 2 February he won the 3000m at the Meeting National, Mondeville, and on 10 February he won the 2000m at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais. On 30 March Birhanu represented his country at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. Birhanu finished 19th in the senior men's race, which was won by Uganda's

Joshua Cheptegei Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the 5000 metres and silver medalist for the 10,000 metres, a two-time 10,000 m World champion from 2019 and 2022, Wo ...

. Birhanu then won both the Arab Championships in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo me ...

and the Asian Championships in

over the 5000m. On 18 May Birhanu finished 4th at the Shanghai Diamond League 5000m running a time of 13:05.04. On 6 June Birhanu finished 4th at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pi ...

-Pietro Minnea in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, clocking a personal best of 12:56.26; his first sub-13 minute 5000m clocking. Birhanu contested several

Meetings over the summer before his next global championships at the

2019 World Championships in Athletics The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held bet ...

. On 30 September after qualifying for the final Birhanu placed 9th in 13:14.66; the race was won by Ethiopia's Muktar Edris. On 26 October Birhanu won the 5000m at the CISM

Military World Games The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A ...

Wuhan, China Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city and ...

in a time of 14:08.99. Birhanu only had a short 2020 track season racing indoors between 31 January and 21 February.

2021

Birhanu began his 2021 track season by competing indoor over 3000m at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais; he finished 5th in an Asian Record of 7:34.58. On 19 May Birhanu raced 10000m at the 60th Ostrava Golden Spike in

Ostrava, Czech Republic Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four r ...

. Birhanu finished 2nd in 27:07.49, and new personal best and national record. Uganda's

Jacob Kiplimo Jacob Kiplimo (born 14 November 2000) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is 2020 Tokyo Olympic 10,000 metres bronze medallist and also won bronze in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Kiplimo earned gold medals in the 5000 m ...

won the race in 26:33.93 Birhanu's race in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four ri ...

qualified him for the 10000m at the

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

; he had already qualified for the 5000m. Birhanu's next race was at the

-Pietra Minnea in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. Birhanu placed 7th in 12:57.71; the race was won by Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Birhanu next raced at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bisl ...

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in the 3000m placing 4th in a personal best time of 7:33.05."Athlete Profile Birhanu Balew." World Athletics
www.worldathletics.org/ athletes/bahrain/birhanu-balew-14695983
Accessed 1 July 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balew, Birhanu 1996 births Living people Ethiopian emigrants to Bahrain Naturalized citizens of Bahrain Bahraini male long-distance runners Ethiopian male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Bahrain Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Asian Games gold medalists for Bahrain Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Athletics Championships winners Asian Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics