Ibrahim Jeilan

1.1. Early Life and Junior Career

A native of the Bale Province, Ethiopia, Ibrahim Jeilan was drawn to professional running after witnessing his countryman Haile Gebrselassie defeat Paul Tergat to secure a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He began competing internationally for Ethiopia at the age of 16. In 2005, he earned a silver medal in the 3000 metres at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics, finishing second only to his compatriot Abreham Cherkos. That same year in November, he placed fourth at the Great Ethiopian Run, recording a 10 km road personal best of 28:45.99.

In 2006, Jeilan secured fifth place in the junior race at the 2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, contributing to the Ethiopian junior team's silver medal, led by Tariku Bekele. His track success continued as he won the Ethiopian national title in the 10,000 metres, surpassing Tadesse Tola. He then went on to claim the gold medal in the event at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics. Later that year, at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels, he finished fourth in a highly competitive field, setting a world youth best of 27:02.81 in the 10,000 metres, which was also the second-best time ever recorded by a junior athlete, only behind Samuel Wanjiru.

The 2007 season, however, proved to be a challenging period for Jeilan. In January, he helped his club, Muger Cement Sports Club, to a second-place finish at the Ethiopian Marathon Relay Championships before winning the Cross de San Sebastián in Spain. Despite these early successes, he faced significant setbacks throughout the year. He failed to finish the junior race at the 2007 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, later attributing his struggles to the intense "heat and the heaviness of the air [that] suffocated me." He also lost his national title on the track, not reaching the top three at the Ethiopian Championships, and his performances on the track circuit were modest, with a tenth place at the Golden Gala and a seventeenth place at the FBK Games.

Jeilan regained his strong form in 2008, winning the national junior cross country title. Reflecting on his difficulties in 2007, he mentioned having "some personal problems which I do not want to speak about. The problems still exist but I hope they can be solved." At the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, he overcame his previous year's disappointment by becoming the world junior champion, employing effective tactics and a strong finish. This victory contributed to an Ethiopian sweep of all four individual titles at the championship. With Kenenisa Bekele's withdrawal from the 2008 African Championships in Athletics, Jeilan seized the opportunity, earning a silver medal in the 10,000 metres behind Gebregziabher Gebremariam, as part of an Ethiopian medal sweep.

He continued his strong performances on the circuit, finishing fourth at the FBK Games and second at the Prefontaine Classic, only behind Kenenisa Bekele, who ran a virtually solo race to record the fourth fastest time ever. However, in his attempt to defend his world junior 10,000 metres title, he was outpaced by Kenyans Josphat Kipkoech Bett and Titus Mbishei, settling for the bronze medal. In July, he won the Giro di Castelbuono 10K road race in Sicily. Two weeks later, his track season concluded with an anticlimactic fifteenth place at the Memorial van Damme. In December, he competed at the São Silvestre de Luanda in Angola, winning the 9.3 mile ^{(15 km)} race in a new course record time.

1.2. Senior Career

1.2.1. 2009-2011

Jeilan's 2009 season was relatively subdued as he transitioned beyond the junior ranks and did not compete in any major championships. In June, he finished fourteenth at the FBK Games. Two weeks later, he recorded a time of 27:22.19 in the 10,000 metres, placing fourth in Utrecht. The highlight of his season was a third-place finish at the Beach to Beacon 10K, where he set a new personal best of 28:20. His disappointment at not being selected for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics prompted a significant change in his career path: he decided to relocate to Saitama in Japan to train with the Honda corporate running team.

In 2010, his sole outing over 10,000 metres saw him run 27:12.43 minutes, which was the sixth fastest time globally that year. At the beginning of 2011, he won his stage of the New Year Ekiden. A time of 27:09.02 minutes in the 10,000 metres secured his selection for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics held in Daegu, South Korea. In a major upset in the 10,000 metres final, Jeilan unexpectedly overtook Mo Farah in the final stages of the race to claim the gold medal. Farah had been undefeated in long-distance events up to that point in the year, while Jeilan had emerged from relative obscurity, having competed almost exclusively in Japan for nearly two years. Farah later commented, "I didn't have a clue about the guy. I hadn't seen him, so I didn't know what he could do or what he was capable of." Jeilan was the only Ethiopian athlete to finish in the top two of any event at those championships, a significant achievement for his nation. He concluded the year by winning another 10,000 metres gold medal at the Athletics at the 2011 All-Africa Games.