Abraham Niyonkuru (born 26 December 1989) is a

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

track and field athlete Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...

who specialises in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

, the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

and cross country running. Niyonkuru competed in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the Olympics, he competed in the marathon. Niyonkuru has also competed in a World Junior Championships, two

World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

, a Jeux de la Francophonie, a World Military Track and Field Championships and an

Auray-Vannes Half Marathon The Auray-Vannes Half Marathon (french: Semi-marathon d'Auray-Vannes) is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.097 km) which takes place in early September in Brittany, France. The point-to-point course begins i ...

Competition

Niyonkuru's debut at an international competition was at the

2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 19/20, 2005. The races were held at the Hippodrome Joseph Desjoyaux in Saint-Galmier near Saint-Étienne, France. Reports of the event were given in ''The New York Times'', in ...

. He competed in the junior men's race and finished 33rd out of 133 athletes in a time of 25 minutes and 32 seconds. At the

2005 Jeux de la Francophonie The 2005 Jeux de la Francophonie, also known as ''Ves Jeux de la Francophonie'', ( French for ''Francophone Games'') were held from December 7–17, 2005 in Niamey, Niger. Events Sports Cultural Medal count Total Participation There were a ...

Niyonkuru competed in the

. Niyonkuru finished fourth in a time of 29 minutes and 18.08 seconds, only 0.03 seconds behind the silver medalist, Moroccan

Abderrahim Goumri Abderrahim Goumri ( ar, عبد الرحيم الغومري; 21 May 1976 – 19 January 2013 in Temara, Morocco) was a Moroccan long-distance runner. He had competed in cross country, track, road running and marathon races. He spent the early pa ...

. Niyonkuru then competed in the 2006 World Junior Championships. He finished fifth in the

in a time of 28 minutes and 59.92 seconds. He was 6.63 seconds behind the race winner, Ibrahim Jeilan of Ethiopia. In 2007, Niyonkuru competed at the 2007 World Cross Country Championships in the junior men's race. He finished 13th in 24 minutes and 56 seconds. He finished 49 seconds behind the gold-medalist, Kenyan Asbel Kiprop. At the

2009 World Military Track and Field Championships The 2009 World Military Track and Field Championship was the 43rd edition of the international athletics competition between military sports Military sports are sports practiced by the military. They are the subject of international competition ...

, Niyonkuru won the silver medal in the 10,000 metres. His time of 29 minutes and 37.14 seconds was 23.67 seconds behind the gold medalist, Essa Ismail Rashed of Qatar. Niyonkuru was 4.97 seconds ahead of the bronze medalist, Tunisian

El Akhdar Hachani EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), America ...

. Niyonkuru won the 2015

in a time of one hour, three minutes and twenty seconds. At the

, Niyonkuru competed in the men's marathon on 21 August 2016, but did not finish the race. In 2017 he competed in the men's marathon at 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'' (Japane ...

, placing 71st in 2:42:27.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niyonkuru, Abraham 1989 births Living people Burundian male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Burundi Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Place of birth missing (living people)