Berihu Aregawi: Biography, Titles and Results

Berihu Aregawi has held the 5 km road world record since 31 December 2021, when he ran 12:49 in Barcelona – a mark still unbeaten as of 22 October 2026. Born on 28 February 2001 in Atsbi Wenberta in Ethiopia's Tigray Region, he has since added Olympic silver from Paris 2024, two Diamond League trophies and three successive silver medals at the World Cross Country Championships.

He opened 2026 with another world cross-country silver in Tallahassee and a win in Elgoibar, both in January; after that the World Athletics database shows no further races for him as of 22 October 2026. Here is his career from his first junior medals to the 2026 season, with dates, places and times from World Athletics.

From Atsbi Wenberta to the junior podium

Aregawi comes from the small town of Atsbi Wenberta in northern Ethiopia; according to a 2024 World Athletics feature, he trains in Addis Ababa. His breakthrough came in 2018. On 23 May he won the national U20 10,000m title in Assela (29:36.67), and on 10 July he took bronze over the same distance at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere in 27:48.41.

Later that summer he won the 3000m at the African Youth Games in Algiers (26 July 2018, 7:50.98). At the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires he finished second in both stages of the combined 3000m and cross-country event – 8:09.17 on 11 October and 11:13 over 4 km of cross country on 15 October 2018 – which earned him the silver medal. On 17 November 2019 he won the Great Ethiopian Run, the 10 km road race in Addis Ababa, in 28:23.

How his senior career unfolded

2021: national title, Diamond League trophy, road record

The first full senior season was crowded. Aregawi won the Ethiopian 10,000m title in Addis Ababa on 6 April 2021 (28:20.2, hand-timed) and finished fourth in the Tokyo final on 30 July – the story of both his Games is on our Berihu Aregawi olympics page. On 8 September the Diamond League final over 5000m was held as a road race in Zürich, and he won it in 12:59 to take the trophy. On 6 November he won the 5 km in Lille (12:52), and on 31 December he ran 12:49 in Barcelona.

2022–2023: Eugene, Bathurst and Lausanne

On 28 May 2022 he won the 5000m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in 12:50.05, and seven weeks later he was seventh over 10,000m at the World Championships in the same city (27:31.00, 17 July 2022). The 2023 season brought his first senior global medal: silver at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst on 18 February (29:26). On 11 March 2023 he won the Laredo 10 km in 26:33, at the time the second-fastest 10 km in history, and on 30 June he won the 5000m at Athletissima Lausanne in 12:40.45, still his best as of 22 October 2026. At the World Championships in Budapest he was fourth over 10,000m (20 August 2023) and eighth over 5000m (27 August). He closed the year by winning the San Silvestre Vallecana in Madrid on 31 December 2023 (27:15).

2024: silver in Paris and a second trophy

2024 was his most successful year. He won the Elgoibar cross country on 7 January (30:34) and took a second world cross-country silver in Belgrade on 30 March (28:12). On 14 June in Nerja he ran 26:31.13, and on 2 August he won silver in the Paris final in 26:43.44 – the full Berihu Aregawi 10000m story is on a separate page. On 25 August in Chorzów he set the Ethiopian 3000m record of 7:21.28, and on 13 September he won the Diamond League final over 5000m in Brussels (12:43.66) for his second trophy. On 31 December 2024 he won the San Silvestre Vallecana again in 26:32, a time World Athletics flags as not valid for record purposes.

2025: indoor silver and a win in Keqiao

He began 2025 with a second Elgoibar win (5 January, 29:36). A half marathon debut in Lisbon had been announced for 9 March 2025, but according to media reports he withdrew a few days before the race. On 22 March he took silver over 3000m at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing (7:46.25), and on 3 May he won the 5000m at the Diamond League meeting in Keqiao in 12:50.45. At the World Championships in Tokyo he finished twelfth over 10,000m (29:02.02, 14 September 2025).

Major titles and medals

The 5 km road world record from Barcelona

Aregawi ran 12:49 at the Cursa dels Nassos in Barcelona on 31 December 2021. As of 22 October 2026 the time is the world record, the African record and the Ethiopian record for 5 km on the road. It works out at an average of about 2:34 per kilometre. Among the runners on our site, the closest is Yomif Kejelcha, whose best of 12:50 from Lille on 19 March 2023 is one second slower. Aregawi had already shown his speed on the road eight weeks earlier, with 12:52 in Lille on 6 November 2021.

Aregawi in 2026: a January double

On 10 January 2026 in Tallahassee he took his third successive silver at the World Cross Country Championships (28:36), finishing behind Jacob Kiplimo; according to the World Athletics team results, Ethiopia won the men's team title. Eight days later, on 18 January, he won the Elgoibar cross country in 29:33 – his third Elgoibar win in a row.

Those are the only two results in his World Athletics profile for 2026 as of 22 October 2026. Organisers had announced him for the 5000m at the Diamond League meetings in Xiamen (23 May 2026) and Oslo (10 June 2026), but his name does not appear in the results of either meeting. We found no public explanation, so we do not speculate. In the world rankings he stood at No. 20 over 10,000m as of 22 October 2026; at his peak he spent 66 weeks at No. 1 in cross country, 46 weeks at No. 1 over 10,000m and 21 weeks at No. 1 over 5000m.

Races and wins in the World Athletics database

World Athletics lists 57 results for Aregawi between 2018 and 2026 (heats and finals counted separately; the database may be incomplete). That total is made up of 54 finals and 3 heats, with 20 wins in finals and no DNF, DNS or DQ entries. His busiest year was 2023 with 12 results; 2026 has two as of 22 October 2026.

Upcoming races (as of 22 October 2026)

No races have been announced for Aregawi as of 22 October 2026. For orientation, these are the big events in the months ahead that suit his disciplines – listed as races to watch, without any claim that he will run them: the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa on 22 November 2026 (confirmed by the organisers), the cross-country tour meetings in Pforzheim (reported for 14 November 2026) and San Vittore Olona (reported for 22 November 2026), the World Athletics Indoor Tour from 27 January 2027 in Belgrade, and the Diamond League, which opens in Doha on 7 May 2027.

Two championships where he has won medals are not held in the coming months: there is no World Cross Country Championships in 2027 (the next edition is in 2029) and no World Indoor Championships in 2027 (the next is in Bhubaneswar, India, on 3–5 March 2028). The full calendar and profiles of other runners, such as Hagos Gebrhiwet, are on our Ethiopian athletes hub.

Where to watch Berihu Aregawi

Most of Aregawi's races are track meetings and cross-country events. In Ethiopia, World Athletics Series events – the World Championships, World Indoor and World Cross Country Championships – are free-to-air on Hagerie TV under a deal announced on 7 May 2026 that runs through 2029. The Diamond League is carried by SuperSport on pay-TV; the league's broadcaster lists for 2023 and 2024 put Ethiopia under SuperSport's Africa coverage, although we have not been able to verify DStv packages in the country as of October 2026. Indoor Tour and cross-country tour meetings are streamed on World Athletics+, where availability from Ethiopia is not confirmed.

Official rights holders only, checked 22 October 2026. Rights change by event and season – check the broadcaster’s schedule before a race. We do not link to unofficial streams.

His complete race history is on his World Athletics profile.

Berihu Aregawi FAQ