Girma Bekele Gebre (Amharic: ግርማ በቀለ ገብረ, romanized: Girma Bek'ele Gebre; born 29 December 1992) is an Ethiopian long-distance and marathon runner. He is best known for finishing third at the 2019 New York City Marathon as a non-elite, unsponsored runner.
Early career and middle-distance running
Gebre first gained international attention in 2009, when he finished third in the 1,500 metres event at the World Youth Championships in Athletics held in Brixen, Italy. This early success established him as a promising middle-distance runner before he transitioned to longer road events.
Road racing and marathon career
In 2016, Gebre placed fourth at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K in New York City. In 2018, he won the Brooklyn Half Marathon with a time of 1:04:56. That same year, he finished third at the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5-K, ninth at the Broad Street Run, and 19th at the 2018 New York City Marathon. He also placed third in the 10K event at the Bermuda Marathon Weekend. In 2019, he completed the Pittsburgh Marathon in 2:13:46.
2019 New York City Marathon
Gebre entered the 2019 New York City Marathon as a non-elite runner, paying his own entry fee rather than receiving an appearance fee. He had no sponsor or agent at the time. The night before the race, he stayed with a friend in The Bronx and slept on a couch. During the race, he joined the lead pack in Brooklyn, where the elite and non-elite courses converged. He finished third overall with a time of 2:08:38, 25 seconds behind winner Geoffrey Kamworor, and ahead of more established Ethiopian runners such as Tamirat Tola and Shura Kitata. His performance beat his previous personal best by more than five minutes. He earned $40,000 for third place, $15,000 for finishing under 2:09:00, and $5,000 as the highest-ranked New York-based runner. He stated he intended to use the prize money to help his family. Due to not having an American bank account, it took him approximately 18 months to receive the prize money.
Personal life
Gebre splits his time between New York and Ethiopia. In 2019, he returned to Ethiopia following the death of one of his brothers. His brother Alemu Bekele competed for Bahrain at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. While in New York, Gebre competes for the West Side Runners club; while in Ethiopia, he trains at altitude in Addis Ababa. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked on a farm in Ethiopia.
Awards
In January 2020, Gebre was named the New York Road Runners male runner of the year.
