Abdi Bile
Athletics competitor / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Abdi Bile (Somali: Cabdi Bile Cabdi, Arabic: عبد بلي عبد; born 28 December 1962) is a former middle distance runner. He holds the highest number of national records in athletics in Somalia across various disciplines.[2] He is currently Somalia's national record holder in nine athletic disciplines, and is thus far Somalia's most decorated athlete in history.[note 1]
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | Somali | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | (1962-12-28) 28 December 1962 (age 61) Las Anod, Sool, Somali Republic (Somalia) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Track | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | 800m, 1500m, mile, 3000m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | George Mason | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | 800m: 1:43.60[1] 1500m: 3:30.55[1] Mile: 3:49.40[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In 1987, he became world champion in the 1500 metres, the first Somali to do so.[3] Bile ran the final 800m of the race in 1:46.0, which as of the 2020s, remains the fastest latter half in the history of the 1500m track race. During the semi-finals of the same championships, on 4 September 1987, he set a championship record with a time of 3:35.67 which lasted until 1 September 1991, when broken by Noureddine Morceli.
He defeated Britain's Sebastian Coe at the 1500m to win gold at the 1989 World Continental Cup. He also won silver at the same event in the 1985 African Championships in Cairo. In 1996 he represented Somalia at the 1996 Summer Olympics for the 1500 meters. His brother, Jama Bile, ran competitively for Northern Arizona University. His son Ahmed Bile ran competitively for Georgetown University.