Ghirmay Ghebreslassie ( Ge'ez: ግርማይ ገብረስላሰ, born 14 November 1995) is an Eritrean

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music men ...

. He won the 2015 World Championships in Athletics marathon in Beijing, China, becoming the youngest winner of the race at age 19 and became the first Eritrean to win a gold medal at the World Championships. On 6 November 2016, Ghirmay was the top men's finisher at the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

, becoming the youngest male to ever win the race.

Early life

Ghirmay was born on 14 November 1995 in Kisadeka, a village from the Eritrean capital Asmara. His talent was spotted by a physical education teacher who saw him running with his friends and encouraged him to take up running. Ghirmay was initially concerned this would affect his academics but was convinced he could follow in the footsteps of

Zersenay Tadese Zersenay Tadese (Tigrinya: ዘርእሰናይ ታደሰ; born 8 February 1982) is an Eritrean long-distance track and road running athlete. He held the men's half marathon world record from 2010 to 2018. His bronze medal in the 10,000 metres ...

and manage both. His father was opposed to his running but success on the track fixed this concern.

Running career

Ghirmay placed 7th at the 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships Junior men's race in Bydgoszcz, Poland. He also placed 7th at the 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships senior men's race in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark. On 22 August 2015, Ghirmay unexpectedly won the marathon race at the

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

, becoming the youngest ever world marathon winner, at the age of 19. He took the lead at the 36 km mark. As he entered Beijing National Stadium for the final lap, he was in a close race with Ethiopian Yemane Tsegay. Ghirmay was able to produce one final sprint in the last 100 m to outlast his competitor. He was running in only his fourth marathon. Ghirmay finished in fourth place at the 2016 London Marathon, achieving a personal best time of 2:07:46. Going into the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

, Ghirmay, by virtue of his world championship, was considered a medal contender in the Marathon event. He placed fourth. On 6 November 2016, Ghirmay was the top men's finisher at the

, becoming the youngest male to ever win the race.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghebreslassie, Ghirmay 1995 births Living people Eritrean male long-distance runners Eritrean male marathon runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Eritrea World Athletics Championships medalists Olympic athletes of Eritrea Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics New York City Marathon male winners People from Central Region (Eritrea) World Athletics Championships winners