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Abdi Bile (Somali: عبدالله بله عبدالله, Cabdi Bille Cabdi, born December 28, 1962, in Las Anod) is a former middle distance runner from Somalia. In 1987 he became world champion, the first Somali to do so.He is the uncle to Ibrahim Abdullahi Mohamed a prominent Nairobi lawyer.
Abdi Bile won the 1500m World Championship in 1987, running the final 800m of the race in 1:46.0, the fastest final 800m of any 1,500 meter race in history. He was a two-time Olympian (1984 and 1996) and dominated his event in the late 1980s. Bile was ranked first in the world in the one-mile in 1989. He was World Cup champion in the 1500m in 1989 and two-time world Grand Prix final champion.
Bile is a graduate of George Mason University with a BS in marketing management. At George Mason, Bile was team captain and a two-time NCAA Division I 1,500 meter champion, winning his first title in 1985 (3:41.2) and the second in 1987 (3:35.79). He also won many conference titles and held the inter-collegiate 1500m record for more than ten years. He was coached by John Cook, the former coach of 2008 Olympic 10000 meter Bronze Medalist Shalane Flanagan. Bile has travelled widely and has inspired many young people and helped several humanitarian organizations.
.In the famous photo above he is shown with a pole with his training pants on the pole acting as a flag. His career was riddled with injuries, and he missed the 1991 World Championships as well as the 1988 and 1992 Olympics because of such problems. In 1996 he finished 6th in the Olympic 1500m final.
- 800 metres - 1:43.60 (1989)
- 1000 metres - 2:14.50 (1989)
- 1500 metres - 3:30.55 (1989)
- One mile - 3:49.40 (1988)
- 3000 metres - 7:42.18 (1994)
[edit] Achievements
[edit] External reference
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Colonial Athletic Association Men's Cross Country Silver Anniversary Team (1985–2010) |
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Julius Achon • Ibrahim Aden • Abdi Bile • Kevin Black • Mike Brown • Russ Coleman • Ben Cooke • Mike Fox • Jacob Frey • Sean Graham • Ken Halla • Jeff Hedley • Charlie Hurt • Brian Hyde • Matt Keally • Kevin Krause • Christo Landry • Matt Lane • C.W. Moran • Ed Moran • Mark Steeds • Steve Swift • Howard Townsend • Paul Vandegrift • Pete Weilenmann
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Somalia
