Girma Bekele Gebre

Girma Bekele Gebre (Amharic: ግርማ በቀለ ገብረ, romanized: Girma Bek’ele Gebre; born 29 December 1992)[1] is an Ethiopian marathon runner who finished third at the 2019 New York City Marathon as a non-elite runner. Gebre also won the 2018 Brooklyn Half Marathon, and came third in the 1,500 metres event at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics.

Girma Bekele Gebre
Personal information
Born (1992-12-29) 29 December 1992
Ethiopia
Sport
SportAthletics
Medal record
Representing  Ethiopia
Middle-distance running
World Youth Championships
Bronze medal – third place2009 Brixen1500 m
Marathon
World Marathon Majors
Bronze medal – third place2019 New YorkMarathon

Personal life

Gebre splits his time between living in New York and Ethiopia. In 2019, he moved back to Ethiopia after the death of one of his brothers.[2][3] His brother Alemu Bekele competed for Bahrain at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.[4]

Career

When in New York, Gebre competes for the West Side Runners, and has won multiple club races.[2][3] Whilst in Ethiopia, he trains at altitude in Addis Ababa.[2][3] In 2009, Gebre came third in the 1,500 metres event at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics.[5]

In 2016, Gebre came fourth at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K event in New York City.[6] In 2018, Gebre won the Brooklyn Half Marathon, in a time of 1:04:56.[7] In the same year, he finished third at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K event,[4] ninth at the Broad Street Run,[8] and came 19th in the 2018 New York City Marathon.[9] He also came third in the 10k event at the Bermuda Marathon Weekend,[10] and competed in a 5k race in Alexandria, Virginia.[7] In 2019, Gebre finished the Pittsburgh Marathon in a time of 2:13:46.[3]

Gebre entered the 2019 New York City Marathon as a non-elite runner, and had to pay an entry fee for the event, rather than receiving an appearance fee as elite athletes did.[3] Gebre didn't have a sponsor or an agent, and the night before the race, he stayed with a friend in The Bronx and slept on a couch.[3] In the race, he joined the lead pack in Brooklyn, where the elite and non-elite courses met.[3] He was in the front group of five runners after 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the race,[11] and was in the front four after another runner dropped away from the lead pack.[12] He finished third in the race,[3][12] and his finishing time of 2:08:38 was 25 seconds behind race winner Geoffrey Kamworor.[3] He finished ahead of more experienced Ethiopians Tamirat Tola and Shura Kitata,[12] and beat his previous personal best by over five minutes.[2] Gebre won $40,000 for finishing in third place, $15,000 for finishing in under 2:09:00,[2][3] and $5,000 for being the highest ranked runner from New York in the race.[2] Gebre said he would use the money to help his family,[3] and it took him 18 months to receive his prize money, as he doesn't have an American bank account.[13] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gebre worked on a farm in Ethiopia.[13]

Awards

In January 2020, Gebre was awarded the New York Road Runners male runner of the year award.[14]

References
  1. "Girma Bekele Gebre". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  2. "Marathon de New York : l'étonnant Girma Bekele Gebre, 3e sans agent ni sponsor". L'Équipe (in French). 4 November 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  3. "The Couch Surfer Who Made the N.Y.C. Marathon Podium". The New York Times. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. "Girma Bekele Gebre". New York Road Runners. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  5. "1500 Metres Boys". World Athletics. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  6. "Donn Cabral, Bjerkeli Grøvdal, Win Abbott Dash To The Finish Line 5-K". Lets Run. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. "Five-times winner heads list of elites". The Royal Gazette. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  8. "Winners cross Broad Street Run 2018 finish line". WPVI-TV. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. "Lelisa Desisa (2:05:59) Holds Off Shura Kitata & Geoffrey Kamworor to Win His First NYC Marathon Title". Lets Run. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. "Jamaican Kimarra McDonald storms to victory in women's 10K". Jamaica Observer. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  11. "Debutante Jepkosgei and Kamworor victorious at New York City Marathon". World Athletics. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  12. "Geoffrey Kamworor Wins NYC Marathon With Late Push". World Athletics. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  13. "The Marathon Men Who Can't Go Home". GQ. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  14. "Girma Bekele Gebre and Belaynesh Fikadu Honored as Fred Lebow Runners of the Year". Running USA. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
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