Name: Abdi Abdirahman
Sport: Track and Field
Event(s): Marathon, 10,000-meter
Height: 5-11
DOB: 1/1/1977
Birthplace: Mogadishu, Somalia
Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.
High School: Tucson High School (Tucson, Ariz.) '95
College: Pima Community College ’97; University of Arizona ‘01, Retail and Consumer Study
Olympic Experience
  • Five-time Olympian (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2020)
  • Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, 41st (marathon)
  • Olympic Games London 2012, no result (marathon)
  • Olympic Games Beijing 2008, 15th (10,000-meter)
  • Olympic Games Athens 2004, 15th (10,000-meter)
  • Olympic Games Sydney 2000, 10th (10,000-meter)
World Championship Experience
  • Most recent: 2007 – 7th (10,000-meter)
  • Years of participation: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007
  • Top Finish: 7th – 2007 (10,000-meter)
Personal: Son of Mahamed Aabdirahman and Halima Ahmed Handule...Born in Somalia and moved to Arizona at age 12...Became a U.S. citizen on Jan. 28, 2000...In 2016, Abdirahman finished third at the TCS New York City Marathon making him the oldest male runner to make the podium at NYC...Secured his place on a fifth Olympic team, and, at 43, became the oldest American runner ever to make the Olympic team...His friends often make fun of his slow gait, “like he’s run so many miles he’s forgotten how to walk.”...He takes a relaxed approach to running. “Running is not a complicated sport...If you’re tired, you’re tired. You take a rest.”...2012 Road Runners Club of America Distance Running Hall of Fame inductee...Four-time national champion in the 10,000-meter (2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)