Feyisa Lilesa

Feyisa Lilesa at the 2015 Berlin Marathon

Feyisa Lilesa (born February 1, 1990 ) is an Ethiopian marathon runner . He belongs to the Oromo ethnic group .

Career

In 2008 he finished fifth in the World 10K Bangalore . At the Cross Country World Championships in Amman , he finished twelfth and won a silver medal in the team championship. In October he won the Dublin Marathon in a time of 2:09:12 hours and missed the course record by just five seconds.

In 2010 he opened the season with a win at the Xiamen Marathon in 2:08:47 h. He achieved a personal best and a course record at the same time. Just three months later, he improved to 4:05:23 h in the Rotterdam Marathon .

At the World Athletics Championships 2011 in Daegu Lilesa won the bronze medal with a time of 2:10:32 h.

2016 turned out to be his most successful year to date. First he won the Tokyo Marathon 2016 in 2:06:56 h.

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro , Lilesa took silver with a time of 2:09:54 hours, 1:10 minutes behind the winner Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya .

Escape

At the finish, Lilela showed crossed fists above her head, the symbol of the protest movement in Ethiopia , which had only been violently suppressed two weeks earlier. Subsequently, he was concerned for his safety, afraid that the regime would murder or imprison him if he returned. He is considering applying for asylum abroad. Activists then raised $ 40,000 for him on a fundraising platform on the Internet. A spokesman for the Ethiopian government countered, however, that Lilesa is considered a hero and has nothing to fear if she returns.

Feyisa Lilesa is 1.83 m tall and unmarried.