ABDIRAHMAN Abdi

United States of America

Athletics

Date of Birth: 1 Jan 1977

Age: 44

Gender: Male

Place of birth: MOGADISHU

Birth Country:

Somalia

Place of residence : TUCSON, AZ

Residence Country:

United States of America

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Men's Marathon	41

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Sapporo Odori Park	Men's Marathon Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Olympic Games

Year	Location	10,000m	Marathon
2012	London, GBR	-	DNF
2008	Beijing, CHN	15th (27:52.53)	-
2004	Athens, GRE	15th (28:26.26)	-
2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	10th (27:46.17)	-

World Athletics Championships

Year	Location	10,000m
2007	Osaka, JPN	7th (27:56.62)
2005	Helsinki, FIN	13th (27:52.01)
2001	Edmonton, AB, CAN	19th (28:34.38)

World Marathon Majors

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
3	Marathon	2016/2017	New York, NY, USA	2:11:23
6	Marathon	2016/2017	Boston, MA, USA	2:12:45
7	Marathon	2017/2018	New York, NY, USA	2:12:48
9	Marathon	2019/2020	New York, NY, USA	2:11:34
15	Marathon	2017/2018	Boston, MA, USA	2:28:18

Legend
SF - Semifinal, QF - Quarterfinal, 1R - 1st Round, Qual. - Qualification, QR - Qualification Round, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DQ - Disqualified, NM - No Mark, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not run in final

Nickname:

The Black Cactus (nyrr.org, 13 Sep 2009)

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Retail Consumer Studies - University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

Languages spoken:

English

Club name:

Mudane Team

Coach:

David Murray [personal]; Gary Lough [personal]

Sporting relatives:

His cousin Abdi Bile Abdi represented Somalia in athletics, including at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta where he finished sixth in the 1500m. He also won gold in the 1500m at the 1987 World Championships in Rome, Italy. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2020; iaaf.org, 01 Jan 2011)

Injuries:

In 2016 he was unable to take part in the US Olympic Trials due to a calf injury and subsequently missed out on the chance of competing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (runningmagazine.ca, 01 Mar 2020; olympics.nbcsports.com, 29 Feb 2020)

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London he did not finish the marathon due to a knee injury. (runningmagazine.ca, 01 Mar 2020)

Between 2010 and 2011, he missed 18 months because of injuries. (uk.eurosport.yahoo.com, 14 Jan 2012)

In 2008 he injured his Achilles tendon while running the New York Marathon. (podiumrunner.com, 29 Feb 2020, 24 Apr 2012)

Start:

He began running seriously while attending Pima Community College in Tucson, AZ, United States of America. (blackcactusrunning.com, 01 Jan 2011)

Reason:

He was encouraged to train with the Pima Community College running team by a friend. "I hung out with a bunch of athletes, and every day at 15:00 they'd go to practice, leaving me alone. I decided I needed to be on a team, so I went to the track coach and asked him if I could join. He told me to come back on Monday when they were doing a five-mile run. So I showed up, wearing jeans and Rockport shoes, and only their No.1 guy beat me, and he had to out-sprint me at the end. So the coach gave me a pair of shoes and said I was on the team." (runnersworld.com, 24 Apr 2012; blackcactusrunning.com, 01 Jan 2011)

Influence:

Eritrean-born US runner Meb Keflezighi, US distance runner Bob Kennedy. (mensracing.com, 02 Nov 2009)

Philosophy:

"You should always listen to your coach and love what you do. Don't stress when tired and it's OK to take a day off if you need to." (runblogrun.com, 27 Feb 2020)

Award:

In 1998, while competing for the University of Arizona, he was named the Pac-10 Conference Male Cross-Country Athlete of the Year. (blackcactusrunning.com, 01 Jan 2011)

General Interest

General
WISDOM OF AGE
He will be age 44 by the time the Olympic Games in Tokyo are held in 2021, and expects it will be his last Olympic Games. "I feel good, I recover well. And it's all in your mind too. I still believe I can compete at a high level and I get a lot of motivation from myself. I try to take it slower, one step at a time. I love running. It's my hobby. I'm good at it. And I get to make money from it, too. After 20 years of running, I remember making my first Olympic team [in 2000]. I think it will be my last Olympics but it won't be my last trials." (podiumrunner.com, 29 Feb 2020; reuters.com, 29 Feb 2020)

FROM SOMALIA TO THE UNITED STATES
Born in Somalia, he attended Jhameyasin Carte High School in Mogadishu, before moving to the United States of America at age 13. He became a US citizen in January 2000. (blackcactusrunning.com, 01 Jan 2011)

Milestones

His third-place finish at the 2016 New York City Marathon at age 39 and 310 days made him the oldest male runner in New York City Marathon history to have reached the podium. (nyrr.org, 29 Feb 2020)

Social Media

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/abdiruns/
https://instagram.com/abdiruns/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/abdi_runs

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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