Birhanu Legese

Birhanu Legese Gurmesa (born 11 September 1994)[2] is an Ethiopian long-distance runner. He won the 2019 and 2020 Tokyo Marathon and finished second at the 2019 Berlin Marathon.

Birhanu Legese
Personal information
Birth nameBirhanu Legese Gurmesa
Born11 September 1994
Woliso, Oromia, Ethiopia[1]
Sport
CountryEthiopia
SportAthletics
Event(s)Long-distance running
TeamNN Running Team
Coached byJos Hermens
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Marathon: 2:02:48 (Berlin 2019)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Ethiopia
World Marathon Majors
Gold medal – first place2019 Tokyo Marathon
Gold medal – first place2020 TokyoMarathon
Silver medal – second place2019 BerlinMarathon

Legese is currently part of the NN Running Team, which is managed by Global Sports Communication.[3]

Career

Born and raised in Woliso, around 100 km south west of Addis Ababa, Birhanu Legese started out as an talented sprinter, winning area 100 metres and 200 m titles.[1]

In 2012, he ran 10 kilometres races, finishing second at the Great Ethiopian Run and, in his international debut, winning the Corrida de Houilles in France.[2]

In 2013, the then 18-year-old finished second in the 10 km in Taroudant, Morocco with a time of 27:34, the third-fastest 10 km road time in the world for 2013.[2][4]

In 2015, Legese claimed victory at the Berlin Half Marathon (59:45) before winning Delhi Half Marathon in a time of 59:20, the joint third-fastest time in the world that year.[2][5]

Further half marathon victories followed at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates in 2016 (1:00:40) and New Delhi once again in 2017 (59:46).[6][2]

In January 2018, Legese made his marathon debut at the Dubai Marathon, finishing sixth with a time of 2:04:15.[2]

In March 2019, the 24-year-old claimed his biggest victory up to that point by winning his first World Marathon Major at the Tokyo Marathon by a two-minute margin, clocking 2:04:48 despite cold and rainy conditions.[7] In September that year, Legese finished second at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2:02:48 to move to third on the world all-time list behind only Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele.[2][8]

He successfully defended his title at the 2020 Tokyo Marathon by winning the race with a time of 2:04:15. He ran 2:03:16 for third at the Valencia Marathon in December that year.[2]

Legese placed fifth at the 2021 London Marathon, and sixth at the 2022 London Marathon.[2]

Marathon performances

Personal bests

Birhanu Legese's personal bests are:[2]

DistanceTimePlaceDate
1500 Metres3:44.07Luanda, Angola2 January 2014
3000 Metres7:51.09Hengelo, Netherlands8 June 2014
5000 Metres13:08.88Shanghai, China18 May 2014
10 Kilometres27:34Taroudant, Morocco10 March 2013
10 Miles Road45:38Amsterdam, Netherlands17 September 2017
Half Marathon59:20New Delhi, India29 November 2015
25 Kilometres1:12:54Kolkata, India18 December 2022
Marathon2:02:48Berlin, Germany29 September 2019

References
  1. "Birhanu Legese profile". NN Running Team. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  2. "Birhanu LEGESE – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  3. "NN Running Team / Team". NN Running Team. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  4. "Season Top Lists – Men's 10 km road race – World | 2013". World Athletics. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  5. "Season Top Lists – Men's Half marathon – World | 2015". World Athletics. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  6. Claus, Liz (12 February 2016). "Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese and Kenya's Cynthia Limo win RAK Half Marathon – in pictures". The National. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  7. Nagatsuka, Kaz (3 March 2019). "Birhanu Legese overcomes wet conditions to win Tokyo Marathon". The Japan Times. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. "All time Top lists – Men's Marathon – World | until 29 September 2019". World Athletics. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
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