Tadesse Abraham
Tadesse Abraham in training camp in St. Moritz, 2014
Personal information
Full nameTadesse Abraham
Born (1982-08-12) 12 August 1982
Asmara, Socialist Ethiopia
(present-day Eritrea)
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight61 kg (134 lb)
Websitewww.tadesse-abraham.ch
Sport
CountrySwitzerland
SportTrack and field
EventMarathon
ClubOn
Turned pro2001
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Half marathon: 59:53 (København 2022)
Marathon: 2:05:10 (Berlin 2023) NR
Medal record
Representing   Switzerland
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 AmsterdamHalf Marathon
Silver medal – second place2018 BerlinMarathon

Tadesse Abraham (sometimes spelt Tadesse Abrham;[1][2] Tigrinya: ታደሰ ኣብርሃም;[3][4] born 12 August 1982) is an Eritrean-born Swiss long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon.[5][6] He was the 2016 European half marathon champion and finished seventh at the 2016 Olympics. He won a silver medal in the marathon at the 2018 European Championships.[7] He also held two Swiss titles for the 10,000 metres in 2020 as well as the marathon in 2022.

Early life and background

Tadesse Abraham was born on 12 August 1982 in rural Asmara as the son of a farmer. Initially, he showed interest in cycling and wanted to be a cyclist rather than a runner growing up.[8][9] Eritrea has a long tradition in cycling, which is its most popular sport and was introduced by the Italians when Eritrea was a still a colony. Bicycles are rampant in Asmara with many people, no matter their age or gender, using them daily for recreation and as a method of transportation.[10]

However, Tadesse fell and broke his bike. His parents could not afford to replace it, so he turned to running instead at age 15 after having to walk up to 20 kilometres regularly to reach school punctually.[11][12] He developed his skills this way and became the fastest in his school.[13] His teacher encouraged him to continue.

His professional career started in 2001. He represented his home country of Eritrea until the 2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Brussels, Belgium on 21 March. Then, he escaped from the team with a colleague and headed directly to Geneva, Switzerland where he arrived as a refugee seeking asylum at the young age of 21.[14][15] Political problems in Eritrea pushed him to permanently leave the country in search of a better life. He elected to settle in Switzerland because of its neutrality.[16]

2004—2014: Coming to Switzerland

Tadesse remembers the first few years being challenging due to the fact that he spoke English as opposed to the Swiss German language and knew no one around the area. He was alone in a foreign land with little to no possibilities. Everything was different to him, including the food and culture. But, eventually, he integrated well to life in Switzerland. Prior to his naturalisation, his running career stagnated somewhat as he was stationed at a refugee camp that rendered him incapable of going out for three months.[15]

He joined the athletics club LC Uster where he trains currently. He ran in several small races throughout the years, both locally in Switzerland and abroad once he finally received permission to travel in 2007. He participated in the Berlin Half Marathon on 5 April 2009, finished in 11th place, and clocked an impressive time of 1:01:25.[15] He entered his first marathon in Zürich on 26 April 2009 and won immediately. Following his victory, he took part in the 2010 Berlin Marathon on 26 September and finished in seventh place. His next marathon win would not be until the Zürich Marathon again on 7 April 2013.

Tadesse at the Morat Fribourg in 2014

Tadesse waited 10 years to obtain Swiss citizenship officially in 2014 and began to represent his adopted country from that point on at international competitions. His career rose exponentially to new heights upon his return to championship racing after a 10-year dormant period. His first event was right in Zürich, where he finished ninth respectably, at the 2014 European Championships on 17 August.[15] He expressed pride in "wearing the [Swiss] shirt and doing something for [his] country".[16]

Despite his struggles getting accustomed to Switzerland, Tadesse priorities giving back to charitable causes. He believes that "to help the refugee means there is humanity". He is cognisant of the harsh realities refugees may experience, having dealt with the exact issues himself in the past. So, he works closely with The Human Safety Net Switzerland (THSN), a foundation of the insurance company Generali Switzerland.[13][17]

THSN supports vulnerable people, such as migrants and refugees, on the THSN Refugee Team realise their dreams. The team of about 20 diverse athletes benefits from the assistance. They can potentially become the best in their sport or secure apprenticeships in whatever area they choose. Tadesse serves as the charity's ambassador. Additionally, he helps coach athletes whenever he has the time and shares ideas with the coaching party at the charity.[15][13][17]

Career

2015—2017

Tadesse at the Grand Prix in Bern in 2015

Tadesse Abraham competed in the marathon event at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing.[18] In 2016, he finished seventh in the marathon at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[19] In the same year, he won gold in the half marathon at the European Championships in Amsterdam[20] and improved the Swiss national record of Viktor Röthlin, set in 2007, to 2:06:40 at the Seoul Marathon.[21] Due to an injury,[22] Tadesse missed most of the 2017 season, including the World Championships in London. He made his marathon comeback at the New York City Marathon in November, where he finished fifth.[23][24]

2018—Present

He won silver in the marathon at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin and finished strongly in ninth place at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.[7] He went to the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia and finished 51st. Although he attended the delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, he did not make it to the finish line. He won the Zürich Marathon 10 April 2022. During the 2023 Berlin Marathon, Tadesse finished in 11th place and lowered the Swiss marathon record down to 2:05:10. His performance marked a masters world record.[25][26][27]

Personal life

Tadesse is married to Senait, who is 7 years older than him. Similarly, she is a fellow Eritrean who was brought up in Switzerland. She runs recreationally and is employed in the financial sector. They met in 2008 at a road run in Meinier while she was preparing for the New York City Marathon. Her friend, Joseph Bago, introduced them. They married three years later in 2011 and had a son together, Elod. He enjoys football and running, especially the 1000 metres. When Tadesse was injured in 2017, his family supported him and remained by his side the entire time while he recovered.[28][29]

Tadesse occasionally uses the nickname "Tade".[30] He tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2021, just days before he was supposed to fly from a training camp in Ethiopia to Geneva for the Belp Marathon.[31]

Achievements

Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeNotes
Representing  Eritrea
2003 World Cross Country Championships Lausanne, Switzerland 26th U20 race 24:14
2004 World Cross Country Championships Brussels, Belgium 58th U20 race 27:07
Representing   Switzerland
2014 European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 9th Marathon 2:15:05
2015 European 10,000m Cup Cagliari, Italy 4th 10,000 m 28:41.37
European Team Championships First League Heracleion, Greece 5th 5,000 m 15:21:86
World Championships Beijing, China 19th Marathon 2:19:25
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 1st Half marathon 1:02:03
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 7th Marathon 2:11:42
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany 2nd Marathon 2:11:24
2019 World Championships Doha, Qata 9th Marathon 2:11:58
2020 World Half Marathon Championships Gdynia, Poland 51st Half marathon 1:02:46 SB
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan — Marathon DNF
2022 European 10,000m Cup Pacé, Ille-et-Vilaine, France — 10,000 m DNF
World Marathon Major
2010 Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany 7th Marathon 2:09:24
2017 New York City Marathon New York City, NY, United States 5th Marathon 2:12:01
2023 Berlin Marathon Berlin, Germany 11th Marathon 2:05:10 PB

National titles

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior men's race", Wikipedia, 4 September 2022, retrieved 26 September 2023
  2. ↑ "2004 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior men's race", Wikipedia, 4 September 2022, retrieved 26 September 2023
  3. ↑ "ኤርትራዊ ስዊዛዊ ኣትሌት ታደሰ ኣብርሃም ኣብ ማራቶን ዙሪክ ቀዳማይ ወጺኡ". BBC News ትግርኛ (in Tigrinya). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Samson, Habte (10 April 2022). "ታደሰ ኣብራሃም ኣብ ዙሪክ-ማራቶን ተዓዊቱ". Erisat. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Tadesse Abraham". IAAF. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Godfrey, Chris (6 January 2014). "Tadesse Abraham: Running to Swiss Time". Running By Doing.
  7. 1 2 "Tadesse Abraham". Generali. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Our Athletes: Tadesse Abraham - On Running". On Running. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Tadesse Abraham - Swiss Olympics". On Running. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Cycling heaven: The African capital with 'no traffic'". BBC News. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Interview with Tadesse Abraham". Datasport. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Über mich". Tadesse Abraham (in German). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 Cerny, Karin (12 April 2021). "Tadesse Abraham: "Du brauchst nur ein Ziel"". Red Bull (in German). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  14. ↑ AG, SPONSER SPORT FOOD. "INTERVIEW TADESSE ABRAHAM". SPONSER SPORT FOOD AG. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Broadbent, Chris (17 June 2021). "Abraham – from refugee to Olympic rings | News | Athletics Better World | World Athletics". World Athletics. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  16. 1 2 Sands, Rich (3 November 2017). "Switzerland's Tadesse Abraham Savors The Big Stage At NYC Marathon - FloTrack". FloTrack. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  17. 1 2 "La course à l'intégration avec Tadesse Abraham". Swiss Olympic Team (in French). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "IAAF 2015 World Championships: Marathon Men - Final Results". IAAF. 22 August 2015.
  19. ↑ "2016 Summer Olympics: Marathon Men - Results". Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  20. ↑ "2016 European Athletics Championships: Half marathon Men - Results". Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  21. ↑ "Abraham läuft Schweizer Rekord". NZZ (in German). 20 March 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  22. ↑ "Tadesse Abraham verletzt". NZZ (in German). 17 March 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  23. ↑ "Switzerland's Tadesse Abraham Savors The Big Stage At NYC Marathon". FloTrack. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  24. ↑ "New York Marathon Results 2017: Men's and Women's Top Finishers". Bleacher Report. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  25. ↑ "Tadesse Abraham explose le record suisse du marathon". Léman Bleu (in Swiss French). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  26. ↑ Carter, Kate (25 September 2023). "Five running records you might have missed this weekend". Runner's World. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "European Athletics". European Athletics. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  28. ↑ von Breitenstein, Eva (12 November 2018). "Marathon-Läufer Tadesse Abraham rennt für Frau und Kind". Schweizer Illustrierte (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  29. ↑ Bornard, Pascal (13 May 2018). "Tadesse Abraham a rappelé que l'amour donne des ailes". Tribune de Genève (in French). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  30. ↑ Abraham, Tadesse (12 November 2019). "Tade Blog Nr 6 : Der Start der Mission Tokyo 2020 ist geglückt". Tadesse Abraham (in German). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  31. ↑ Bornand, Pascal (11 March 2021). "Athlétisme – Tadesse Abraham stoppé par le coronavirus". Tribune de Genève (in French). Retrieved 26 September 2023.
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