Bashir Abdi

Personal life Abdi was born in El Afweyn, Somaliland, a town mainly inhabited by the Habr Je'lo clan of the Isaaq clan-family. When he was eight, his family moved to Djibouti. He then spent a year and a half in Ethiopia, before settling in Belgium, where his mother had initiated a family reunification procedure after having received recognition as a political refugee. There, aged 16, he started training at the Racing Club Gent Athletics, following his brother Ibrahim.

Running career 2014–2017 Abdi entered the 10,000 metres at the 2014 European Athletics Championships with the European-leading time set on 4 May. He finished fifth at the event.

At the Games, Abdi competed in both the men's 5000 m and 10,000 m. He finished 20th in the 10,000 m final, the race won by Great Britain's Mo Farah.

In 2017, he competed in the London 2017 World Championships in Athletics in the men's 5000 m, placing sixth in his heat.

2018–2019: Beginning of marathon career In 2018, Abdi made his marathon debut at the Rotterdam Marathon, placing seventh with a time of 2:10:46. The race was won by Kenya's Kenneth Kipkemoi in 2:05:44. In August that year, he won silver in the 10,000 m at the 2018 European Athletics Championships. In the autumn Abdi raced several road races placing third at the Great North Run half marathon in a time of 1:00:42, fourth at the Dam tot Damloop 10 miler in 46:08, fifth at the Nijmegen Zevenheuvelenloop 15 km in 43:40 and third at the 's-Heerenberg Montferland Run 15 km in 43:40.

Mo Farah, Abdi and Daniel Wanjiru, The Big Half in London in 2019. In 2019, he was second at the Big Half Marathon in London with a time of 1:01:16 in a close finish with race winner Mo Farah and third placer Daniel Wanjiru. Abdi then competed in the London Marathon, placing seventh in a time of 2:07:03 in a race won by Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge in 2:02:37. In August, he was second in the Beach to Beacon 10 km in the United States, finishing in 28:35. The race was initially won by Kenya's Alex Korio, however he was disqualified. Jairus Birech came in second. Abdi headed back to Newcastle upon Tyne where he again raced the Great North Run half marathon, finishing fifth in a time of 1:01:11, the race was won by Farah. In October, Abdi ran in the Chicago Marathon, placing fifth with a time of 2:06:14, the race was won by Kenya's Lawrence Cherono in 2:05:45 in a sprint finish. Abdi next raced at the Montferland Run 15 km, finishing fifth in a time of 42:29. On New Year's Eve in Spain he won the San Silvestre Vallecana 10k m in Madrid with a time of 27:47.

2020–present: Marathon breakthrough Abdi opened his 2020 racing campaign by winning the Egmond Half Marathon. He then achieved his first marathon podium position by placing second in the Tokyo Marathon in a new personal best time of 2:04:49. He passed Ethiopia's Sisay Lemma in the closing stages to finish behind the race winner Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese, who ran a time of 2:04:15. Abdi returned to the track in September competing at the Memorial Van Damme in the one hour race. He ran the majority of the race with Farah, taking the lead and setting a European record at 20,000 m of 56:20.02. He finished second behind Farah setting a mark of 21,322 metres. In October, Abdi won the rescheduled Rotterdam Marathon, setting a European record with a time of 2:03:36.

In April 2022, he placed fourth at the Rotterdam Marathon.

In April 2023, Abdi regained his Rotterdam Marathon title in a time of 2:03:47, clocking a significant negative second half split of 61:32, setting the second fastest European time in history as he missed his own continental record by just 11 seconds.

At the beginning of 2024 Abdi, while on altitude training in Ethiopia, suffered a sacral stress fracture and was forced to interrupt training for 6 weeks, preventing him to run a spring marathon in preparation for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He returned to competition in the Great Manchester Run, his first race since his injury, and set a Belgian record in the 10 km on the road. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, he finished 2nd, winning Belgium's only silver medal at the Games. With his time of 2:06:47 he also broke the Belgian national record for the marathon in the master M35 category.

In 2025, Abdi competed in the Chicago Marathon, finishing 10th with a time of 2:07:08.

Statistics Abdi took silver for the 10,000 m at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin.

Competition record

Personal bests

Honours Ghent University awarded Abdi an institutional honorary doctorate for his unique combination of elite sports and social commitment.