In the past weekend, the domestic marathon environment was not optimistic, and yesterday everyone also saw countless "red head documents". But when we turned the camera to the world, in addition to the world record of the women's half horse was greatly improved, on October 24, at the 40th Rotterdam Marathon in the Netherlands, Belgian bashir Abdi Bashir Abdi won the championship with a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 36 seconds, breaking the track record and raising the European record by 40 seconds.
The 32-year-old Somali athlete just won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics three months ago and staged a moving moment with Kipchoge and Najiye.
On August 8, when the Men's Marathon at the Tokyo Olympics was less than a kilometer from the finish line, Abdi Nageeye Abdi Nagiye, Bashir Abdi Abdi and Lawrence Cherono Lawrence Cherono began their final sprint for silver and bronze medals. And a touching scene is also staged!
Slightly ahead, Najiye suddenly began to slow down and wave to his friend Abdi behind him, gestures that seemed to encourage him to continue to accelerate and rush forward. And that encouragement seemed to work, and Abdi began to sprint with all his might, winning the bronze medal in the final moments against Cheronno. At the finish line, Najiye, Abdi and Kipchoge hugged each other tightly, and the scene was instantly defensive!
In a post-race interview, Abdi said he had some cramps in his right hamstring with 3 kilometres left in the race. Without Najiye's repeated encouragement, he might not have been able to make it to the finish line. And Najiyeh also responded that in the last less than 1 kilometer, he looked back and saw his friend Abdi, he wanted to help Abdi, hoping that he could fight harder, and the result was that Abdi did it!
In the end, Abdi overcame the pain of cramping with the encouragement of his friends and finished the game smoothly. "Abdi won bronze, his friend Najiye won silver and their friendship won gold!" That's perhaps a good summary of this exhausting Olympic marathon. The two of them interpreted the marathon spirit of "friendship first" with practical actions, and this fairy friendship also moved many people!
In fact, this Tokyo Olympics, Najiye represented the Netherlands, while Abdi fought for Belgium. But their relationship is so close not only because they are training partners, but also because they both share a common identity behind them, that is, they were both born in Somalia, a chaotic country known as the "pirate kingdom".
Perhaps because they are both from Somalia, both have fled to other countries because of the instability of the country, and they are both marathon runners, the relationship between the two is not only a superficial competitor, but also a good friend who cherishes each other. They encouraged each other, helped each other, and hoped that they could shine together in the marathon field and stand on the highest podium together.
In the article "Abdi Najiye Wanderer Running from the Heart", we once introduced the legendary life of Najiye, who had the opportunity to train with Kipjog after joining the Global Sports (NN running team) in the Netherlands, and Kipchoge also gave Najiye a lot of help. Abdi's championship career was also not simple.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, Abdi immigrated to Belgium with his father, sister and brother in 2002, at the age of 13, and spent many years reuniting with his mother, who had been recognized as a political refugee. "Before going to Ghent, Belgium, I struggled to survive because there were several wars in Somalia and Ethiopia."
As a child Abdi only played football and never ran, "because in Somalia, the only sport on TV or in the newspapers is football." I didn't even know other movements existed. "Abdi never thought he was going to be a track and field athlete," and then I got into running, which appealed to me. Running alone made me forget everything I went through and gave me a lot of sense of accomplishment. ”
In fact, at the age of 18, Abdi began to run, at this time, he met his best friend and mentor Mofara, and in a way, it was Mofara who inspired Abdi at that time.
He and Mofalla met in a race in 2008, when Abdi had just started running. Just like fans meet idols, after waiting for the game, Abdi not only got an autograph, but also got a selfie group photo. Mofara gave the fledgling lad great encouragement.
They first trained together in Kenya in 2014 and have been training together ever since. "We train together every day, and now we're even the same coach," Abdi said, "and I feel like I've made my dream come true and I'm excited to train with the best athletes in the world." ”
At the 2020 Brussels Diamond League, Mofalla broke a new world record for the one-hour event. His training partner Abdi followed. Abdi also set a new record in the race, running 20 km in 56:20.02. "Mofalla is always inspiring every upcoming young athlete. He is our leader and always points us in the right direction. ”
Abdi moved in his direction, "One of the main goals of my sporting career is to win a medal for my country, my new country," he said. "Thank you to them for giving me a new life and a new opportunity." He pocketed the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and became the pride of Belgium.
More than two months after winning the bronze medal at the Olympics, Bashir Abdi shines again.
Rotterdam is home for Abdi, "This is where my marathon adventure began. I don't want to fall this time," Abdi's first horse was the Rotterdam Marathon, and on that occasion, he fell and ran 210. Najiyeh remembers Abdi's first horse, "His head is bleeding and I hope he can make Rotterdam proud again."
Abdi's goal for this race is the European record, a 2:04:16 set in 2019 by Turkey's Ethiopian naturalized Kaan Kigen Özbilen. The weather conditions in Rotterdam on Sunday were almost perfect: the wind was not very strong, the autumn sun was shining, and the starting temperature of around 10 degrees was also suitable.
The race started quickly, with the First Group already half a minute ahead of the European record after holding 15 km, and Abdi had a little difficulty in about 28 km, but he quickly adjusted and got rid of the other runners to extend the lead.
2:03:36！ Abdi broke the European record and won the championship! He became the second Belgian to win the Rotterdam Marathon, the last to win the race was Vincent Rousseau, who won the race in 1994 in 2 hours 07 minutes and 51 seconds.
'Rotterdam is like a home game for me and I want to give back to the public by winning here." Abdi has always been grateful to the country that gave him his new identity.
"Sport is a way of survival, and to be honest, sport has saved me," said Abdi, who has managed to break multiple personal, national and even world records and hopes to achieve even greater success.
In the field of marathons alone, Abdi has achieved many achievements. At the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, he broke the Belgian national record in 2:04:49; at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, he won a precious bronze medal for Belgium with the encouragement of his friend Najiye; today, Abdi has become the top marathon runner in Europe, just running 14th in history.
What kind of legend will Bashir Abdi, a master runner from Somalia, continue to write in the future?